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ut 



THE WORK OF THE TEACHER 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



THE WORK OF THE 
TEACHER 



BY 



SHELDON EMMOR DAVIS, Ph.D. 

DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, MARYVILLE 

MISSOURI 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1918 

All rights reser-vtd 



v^ 






Copyright, 1918, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published December, 1918. 



DEC 23 1SI8 



Notinooti l^ttis 

J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwck & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



(S)C!.AfiO8GJ0 



FOREWORD 

The aim of this book is indicated in its title — The Work 
of the Teacher. Its purpose is to aid directly in preparation 
for vocational duties and to interpret attitudes and relation- 
ships from the professional viewpoint. Duties specifically 
associated with the teacher's ofl&ce are emphasized rather 
than those which are shared with other members of the com- 
munity. Every teacher must conduct class exercises, manage 
and govern pupils, and make out school reports because of 
his status as teacher ; in common with the lawyer, merchant, 
or farmer he is also expected to be a patriotic, intelligent 
citizen, alert to give his best service wherever it is needed. 
With the teacher as a teacher this volume is concerned. Unless 
he stands four-square with the world as an honestly equipped 
workman in his chosen field, he lacks much of the full stature 
of citizenship, and can exercise no leadership in the so-called 
"wider fields" of community Hfe. The teacher's strength 
as a citizen begins with a firm and efficient grasp of the school 
situation. It is to emphasize the necessity of meeting fully 
the technical responsibiHties of the teacher's occupation that 
this book is written. 

Educational principles are not less valid if approached 
through the medium of concrete exercises connected with 
everyday school life, such as those appended to each chapter. 
Young teachers usually search for devices of immediate utility 
before they grasp educational generalizations which come 
only with study and experience. It is believed that the specific 



vi Foreword 

suggestions here offered are based upon sound principles of 
which beginners should become increasingly conscious as they 
read. The exercises are not based exclusively upon preceding 
chapters, but usually contain considerable material supple- 
menting the text. They have grown out of practical school 
experience, have been used for several years in the writer's 
classes, and are designed for class use, though a large per 
cent of them can be worked out by the lone teacher in con- 
nection with his daily school tasks. Used in this way they 
should give added meaning to the teacher's work and lead 
to more effective procedure. 

Aside from his colleagues in the broad field of education, 
former instructors and students whose unmeasured influence 
has furnished most of the content of this book, the writer 
is indebted to his wife, Mary Coleman Davis, who has con- 
tributed specifically to every page ; to his sister, Helen M. 
Davis, who read the manuscript critically and constructively ; 
to his associates in the State Normal School, especially 
W. J. Osburn, C. A. Hawkins and Miss Beulah Brunner ; to 
P. P. Callaway, Teacher Training Inspector of Missouri and 
to Dr. W. C. Bagley whose views may unconsciously appear 
without quoted recognition because of the author's long con- 
tinued use of his textbooks in education. Finally, acknowl- 
edgment is made to Dr. Bagley, Dr. John Dewey, Miss Lida 
B. Earhart, Dr. Ernest Carroll Moore, Dr. Arthur C. Perry, 
Jr., Dr. E. L. Thorndike and to the Houghton Mifflin Company 
for kindly given permission to quote with credit brief extracts 
from their publications. 

S. E. D. 

State Normal School, 

Maryville, Missouri. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

PAGES 

Wa\s of Regarding Education i-ii 

Introduction and analysis, i. Necessity of studying 
ultimate aims, 2. General aims useful for comparison, 
2. Study of aims enlightens practice, 3. Typical 
ways of regarding education: i. A means of trans- 
mitting social inheritance, 5. 2. A means of naturaliza- 
tion, 6. 3. A means of developing wide interests, 6, 
4. A means of developing social efficiency, 7. Proxi- 
mate aims not superseded by general statements of 
purpose, 9. Exercises, 9-11. 



CHAPTER II 

The Pupil as an Object of Study 12-36 

The necessity for studjang pupils, 12. Suggestions 
for study of pupils : i. Introspection, 13. 2. Children's 
questions, 14. 3. School activities, 14. 4. Parents 
and home environment, 15. 5. The child in literature 
and psychology, 5. Characteristics common to pupils: 
I. Narrow, personal, specific nature of the child's ex- 
perience, 18. 2. Experience rather than words lacking, 
18. 3. Apperceptive quality of all learning, iq. 4. All 
children pass through fairly marked stages of develop- 
ment, 20. 5. Diffusion, 21. 6. Pupils' interests and 
abihties dirigible, 22. Individual differences : i. In type 
of attention, 15. 2. In suggestibility, 25. 3. In thought 
and imagery, 27. 4. In age, 28. 5. Diflferences be- 
tween boys and girls, 29. 6. Diflferences in physical and 

vii 



viii Table of Contents 

PAGES 

sense endowment, 29. 7. Differences as to discipline, 
30. 8. Differences in ability to do school work, 30. 
Exercises, 32-36. 

CHAPTER III 

The Teacher's Relation to the Curriculum . . 37-59 

The meaning of the curriculum, 37. The curriculum 
as a subject of discussion, 37. General content of the 
curriculum, 38. Use of curriculum determined by bio- 
logical factors, 38. The curriculum constantly chang- 
ing, 39. Curriculum changes gradual, 40. Growth 
in amount of curriculum material results in prob- 
lems of selection, 46. Specific changes due to elimination 
and addition, 42. Conservative and progressive attitudes 
toward new subjects, 44. Opposing theories; cultural 
contrasted with vocational curriculum, 45. Present use 
contrasted with preparation ; the problem curriculum, 48, 
The teacher's relation to criticism of the curriculum, 50. 
The teacher's relation to the local course of study, 53. 
Exercises, 54-58. 

CHAPTER IV 

The Teacher in Relation to External Elements . 60-101 
A. Fixed elements of school environment, 61. Why 
teachers' ideals should be intelligent concerning school 
environment, 61. The school site, 61. The school 
ground, 62. Proper moral environment, 63. Improve- 
ment of school site and ground: i. School gardens, 6^. 
2. Arbor Day, 64. 3. Other measures of improve ment, 
64. Size and shape of classrooms, 65. Schoolroom light- 
ing, 65. Seats and desks, 66. Ventilation of the school- 
room, 69. Maintaining proper temperature, 71. Hu- 
midifying schoolroom air, 71. B. Teaching equipment, 
72. The blackboard, 72. Maps, 74. The dictionary, 
75. Encyclopedias, 77. The school Ubrary, 77. The 



Table of Contents ix 

PAGES 

teacher as guide in purchasing teaching equipment, 78. 
Schoolroom decoration, 79. C. Daily schedule and its 
administration, 81. Follow program unless modified ac- 
cording to plan, 81. The nature and importance of sub- 
jects, 82. The size and character of classes, 83. The 
question of fatigue, 83. The expedient of alternation, 85. 
Saving time by combining classes, 86. Provision for 
helping individual pupQs, 86. Opening or general exer- 
cises, 87. D. The teacher's responsibility for hygienic 
and sanitary measures, 91. Eyesight, 92. Hearing, 93. 
Adenoid growths, 94. Posture, 94. Communicable 
diseases and sanitary precautions, 95. Exercises, 97-101. 

CHAPTER V 

Governing and Maintaining Morale . . . .102-138 
The meaning of government and morale, 102. Pur- 
poses of school government, 103. Causes of infractions 
of discipline or lapse in morale: i. Instinctive tendencies 
of children, 105. 2. Influence of some homes against 
work of school, 106. 3. Popular educational discussion 
misunderstood, 107. 4. Mischief -inspiring school or- 
ganization, 108. 5. The teacher as the cause of school 
troubles, no. Essential elements in maintaining mo- 
rale: I. The school must have organized routine, 
III. 2. Initiate strongly and with a plan, 112. 3, 
Persistence essential to use of plans initiated, 114. 
4. Hold pupils to the obligation of the school situa- 
tion, 114. 5. Scholarship an element of control, 115. 
Incentives: i. Positive versus negative incentives, 116. 
2. Group versus individual appeals, 116. 3. Only 
attainable ends effective as incentives, 117. 4. Best 
incentives become ideals of lifelong value, 117. 5. In- 
centives commonly employed: (a) Prizes, 118. (5) 
Privileges and exemptions, 118. (c) Exhibition of 
pupils' work, 119. {d) Marks and promotion, 119. 



X 



Table of Contents 



{e) The incentive of approval or praise, 121. (/) So- 
cialized pride in reputation of room, school, or competing 
group, 122. Pupil self-government, 123. i. Pupil 
self-government as a device of school control, 123. 2. 
Pupil self-government to develop interest in our political 
institutions, 124. Corrective measures of discipUne: 

1. Necessity of coercive measures, 125. 2. General sug- 
gestions for use of school penalties: (o) Look for cause 
of unsatisfactory conduct, 125. (b) The impersonal 
and objective attitude, 125. (c) Assume innocence of 
wrongdoing or intention, 126. (J) Penalties inflicted to 
prevent rather than to compensate for offenses, 126. (e) 
Punishment severe enough to be unpleasant, 126. (/) 
Sequential quaUty of punishment, 127. Commonly used 
penalties and corrective measures: i. Reproof, 128. 

2. Withdrawal of privilege, 129. 3. Keeping after 
school, 129. 4. Sending to the principal, 129. 5. 
Corporal punishment, 130. 6. Suspension and expulsion, 
130. Exercises, 132-138. 

CHAPTER VI 



Teaching — The Assignment 

Importance of instructional ability in teachers, 139. 
Significance of terms — teaching, instruction, lesson, 140. 
Divisions of lesson — assignment, study, recitation, 140. 
What the assignment must accomplish: i. Shows clearly 
what is to be done, 141. 2. Must inspire performance, 
143. 3. Direct to difficulties and means of overcoming 
them, 145. 4. Point to relationships not likely to be 
discovered by pupils, 147. 5. Place before pupils the 
proper amount and quality of work, 147. Questions re- 
lating to the mode of assigning lessons: i. Place of as- 
signment in class period, 149. 2. Time required to make 
assignment, 150. 3. Individual assignments, 151. Ex- 
ercises, 151-153. 



139-153 



Table of Contents xi 

CHAPTER VII 

FAQES 

Teaching — The Recitation 154-221 

No teaching without learning, 154. The purpose of 
the recitation, 155. Aims of pupU and teacher, 155. 
Aims determined by nature of work, 155. Essential con- 
ditions for effective recitation: i. The teacher must 
know the subjects taught, 156. 2. The teacher must 
know the pupils: (a) Why teachers find it difficult to 
understand pupils, 157. (6) Expecting too much of 
pupils, 158. ■ (c) Presupposing adult emotions in children, 
158. {d) Importance of immediate set or attitude, 159. 
(e) Fixed expectation according to grade the result of 
teaching experience, 160. 3. External conditions neces- 
sary for the recitation: {a) Effective seating, 160. {b) 
Freedom from intrusions, 161. 4. Skill in the technique 
of teaching: a. Organization of subject matter, (i) 
Logical and psychological order, 162. (2) Inductive 
development, (o) Nature of inductive exercises, 163. 
(Jo) Steps of development, 164. (c) Suggestions for writ- 
ing a lesson plan, 166. (3) The deductive lesson, 167. 
b. Use of means appropriate to the type of lesson, 168. 
(i) Testing, 169. (i) Inadequate means used in testing 
should not supersede questioning, 169. (ii) Testing 
reflects upon teacher's work, 169. (2) Instructing, 170. 
(i) Question and answer instruction, 170. (ii) The 
topical method, 171. (iii) The telling method, 172. 
(iv) The written lesson, 173. (3) Drill, (i) Purpose of 
drUl to secure the economy of habit, 174. (ii) The 
teacher by drUl reduces selected activities to the plane of 
habit, 174. (iii) Suggestions for drUl based upon the 
psychology of habit, 176. (4) Appreciation and enjoy- 
ment, 181. (i) Enthusiasm more effective than direct 
suggestion, 181. (n) Preparation in harmony with aim 
of appreciation, 182. (iii) Utilizing incidental oppor- 
tunities to develop appreciation, 182. (iv) Immediate 
expression of emotion not demanded, 182. 



xii Table of Contents 

c. Skill in questioning, (i) School questions a techni- 
cal instrument, 183. (2) Classifications of questions, 
184. (o) Fact and thought questions, 184. {b) Pivotal, 
developing, and sequential questions, 185. (c) Types of 
objectionable questions, 187. (3) Suggestions upon 
questioning: (o) Questions should be clear, {h) definite, 
(c) not in the language of textbook, 189, {d) distributed 
according to the needs of the class, 190, {e) asked with an 
attitude of confidence, 191. (/) The niunber of ques- 
tions should be reduced, 192. (4) Pupils' answers, 192. 

d. Use of illustrative material, 193. (i) Nature and 
purposes, 193. (2) General suggestions for use of 
illustration: (a) Use too many rather than not enough, 
194. {b) Both pupils and teachers use illustrations, 195. 
(c) Illustrations should have worth in themselves, 195. 
{d) Illustrations must be related to material of recitation, 
196. (e) Personal illustrations used with care, 197. (3) 
Common forms of illustrative material, 197. (a) Pic- 
tures, drawings, graphs, diagrams, 197. {h) Maps, 203. 
(c) Illustrative stories, 204. 

e. Use of textbooks in the recitation, 205. 

/. Suggestions for self-criticism in the technique of 
the recitation, 207. Exercises, 208-221. 



CHAPTER Vin 

Teaching — The Study Period 222-254 

What study means, 222. Essential conditions for 
study, 223. I. Motivation, 223. 2. Concentration, 
225. 3. Recognition of the nature of the lesson 
being studied, 226. 4. Memorizing an important ele- 
ment in study, 227. {a) Intelligent recognition of the 
part played by memory needed, 227. {b) Original 
retentive power not capable of direct improvement, 228. 
(c) Memorizing aided by economical organization, 229. 



Table of Contents xiii 

PAGES 

Suggestions for making the study period effective, 231. 
I. Make study a serious undertaking, 231. 2. Stimu- 
late interest in learning with the least possible expenditure 
of time, 231. 3. The waste of underlearning, 232. 4. 
The waste of overlearning, 232. 5. Pupils' notebooks 
as a form of study, 233. 6. Written work as a form 
of study, 234. 7. Home study assignments made with 
care, 235. 8. Supervised study, 237. 9. Utilization of 
play instincts and incidental possibilities in study, 238. 
Elimination of typical specific wastes in study, 239. i. 
Inability of pupils to read, 239. (a) Unfamiliar words, 
239. {b) Result of eye defects or wrong grouping, 240. 
(c) Persistence of famihar meanings, 240. 2. Useless 
correlations and needless imagery, 240. 3. Studying 
without recognized plan, 242. Use of textbooks in the 
study period, 243. i. Study topics rather than pages or 
chapters, 244. 2. Teacher must know plan and organi- 
zation and aid pupils to utilize helps, 244. 3. Study 
questions for guidance of pupils, 245. Diagnosis of pupUs 
with study difficulties, 247. Exercises, 249-254, 



CHAPTER IX 

Measuring the Work of the School . . . ,255-278 
Necessity of measuring results, 255. Difficulty of 
measuring results, 255. Educational results to be meas- 
ured, 256. I. Ideals, 256. 2. Habits, 257. 3. Knowl- 
edge, 258. The school's estimates of its own work, 258. 
I. The teacher's unrecorded judgment, 259. 2. Marks 
or grades, 260. (a) How often marks should be recorded, 

260. (6) Notation used in marking ; letters and per cents, 

261. (c) Giving marks a meaning, 262. 3. Examina- 
tions, 266. 4. Standard tests and scales, 268. {a) Repre- 
sent actual attainment, 268. {b) Are objective and can 
be widely appHed, 269. (c) Use of scales steadies teacher's 



XIV 



Table of Contents 



estimates, 269. {d) Distinction between teaching and 
testing values of measurement scales, 270. {e) Achieve- 
ment of rooms or classes more important than high in- 
dividual records, 271. (/) Teacher's cooperation in de- 
veloping educational measurements, 272. Promotion as a 
resultant, 273. Exercises, 273-278. 



CHAPTER X 

Attendance, Records, and Reports .... 

The necessity of regular attendance, 279. Parental re- 
sponsibility for attendance, 279. PupUs' responsibility 
for attendance — truancy, 281. Means of stimulating 
attendance, 281. (a) Vital interest in school work, 281. 
(ft) Requiring excuses for absence, 282. (c) Compulsory 
attendance laws, 283. Tardiness as a problem of at- 
tendance, 284. Records and reports, 285. {a) Economy 
and accuracy in keeping records and making reports, 286. 
(Jb) Reports to school oflScers, 287. (c) Reports to 
parents, 287. Exercises, 291-292. 



279-292 



CHAPTER XI 

The Teacher and Educational Statistics 

The purpose of educational statistics, 293. The nor- 
mal curve of distribution, 295. Application of normal 
curve of distribution, 296. QuartUes and quintUes; the 
mode; symmetrical distribution, 297. The median, 298. 
I. Advantages of median over average, 298. 2. How to 
compute the median, 300. 3. Discrete and continuous 
series, 301. 4. Finding median in a continuous series, 
303. 5. Abridged processes of finding median, 304. 
Study of statistical methods and terms worth while for 
teachers, 305. Exercises, 306-308. 



293-308 



Table of Contents 



XV 



CHAPTER XII 



The Teacher 

The importance of the teacher, 309. Character and 
selection of the teaching force: i. Effect of adverse 
criticism upon the supply of teachers, 310. 2. Need of 
awakening sentiment for better teachers, 311. 3. Need 
of more intelligent and effective selection, 312. Qualifi- 
cations of the teacher: i. Personal, moral, and social 
qualities and improvement, 313. 2. Educational prep- 
aration, (o) Thoroughness, 315. (b) Specific training 
in every subject taught, 316. (c) Knowledge wider than 
subject taught, 316. {d) Ready and exact knowledge, 
316. 3. Professional training, 317. 4. Teaching experi- 
ence, 318. 5. Supervisors' estimates of teachers, 319. 
Proper conservation of teachers' time and energy, 319. 
I. Frank recognition of the peculiar demands of the pro- 
fession, 320. 2. Limitation of social service conditioned 
by demands of the school, 320. 3. System as a conserver 
of time, 321. The teacher's philosophy of professional 
relationships, 321. i. Why I teach, 322. 2. Narrow- 
ing tendencies of my vocation, 322. 3. Small initial 
professional margin increased by capitalizing experience, 
323. 4. Professional rating most highly prized, 324. 5. 
Professional code requires etiquette of secrecy, 324. 6. 
Professional interest in pupils becomes personal, 325. 
Professional outlook, 325. Exercises, 326-330. 

Bibliography 

Index 



309-330 



330-332 
333-342 



THE WORK OF THE TEACHER 

CHAPTER I 
WAYS OF REGARDING EDUCATION 

Introduction and analysis. Most educational discourses 
may be analyzed into discussions of the why, the what, or 
the how of the school and its work. The content of this book 
relates chiefly to the how, with which teachers are most 
constantly confronted in their daily activities. Though it 
often falls to the philosopher to state aims, and to adminis- 
trative officers to prescribe the what, as laid down in the course 
of study, it is a poor teacher whose mind forever dwells upon 
questions of method and management, neither of which achieve 
full meaning except in relation to the purpose (the why), the 
subject (the pupil) , and the material (the curriculum) of educa- 
tion. For this reason the first three chapters are devoted to 
an introductory presentation of these topics. Since acquaint- 
ance with them is a condition of success in the first-hand con- 
tacts of the schoolroom, their understanding is part of the 
teacher's work not less than is instruction itself. 

Aims of education may be classed as ultimate or general, 
and as proximate or specific. Most educational purposes dis- 
cussed as aims by writers upon education are general. Prox- 
imate aims include those of which classroom teachers are 



2 The Work of the Teacher 

likely to be conscious: to teach a given lesson, develop a 
specific ability, or to memorize a bit of literature or a 
formula. 

Necessity of studying ultimate aims. General statements 
of the aim of education have been made since man began to 
think of the subject in a well-ordered way. Without aim, the 
process goes on blindly ; some one must guide. In auto- 
cratically governed societies political leaders alone may be 
concerned with ultimate aims ; in a democratic society all 
must be interested in the goal toward which preparation for 
full citizenship tends. Philosophers and leaders may formu- 
late educational aims, but no intelligent teacher can afford to 
regard discussions of these as too remote or abstract to re- 
ceive careful study. Rather it should be said that the teacher 
for whom the great conceptions of educational purpose have 
no meaning cannot be intelligent. '£!^ 

The final result of the work of the school has more signifi- 
cance than any method, or device, or unit of subject matter, 
however important it may seem in the work of the day or 
term. Beginning teachers, in a most commendable zeal to 
find "^something that will really tell how to teach," are some- 
times impatient of lectures or chapters which deal with the 
larger phases of education, considering such material " too 
theoretical." It is worth while for such teachers occasionally 
to force themselves to a study of some of the great formula- 
tions of educational aims ; they may be surprised to find how 
much meaning is thus added to the activities of daily school 
Hfe. 

General aims useful for comparison. Educational aims 
stated many years ago, since they afford means for serious 
clarifying of opinion, are especially worthy of study by way 



Ways of Regarding Education 3 

of comparison with those accepted by contemporary writers. 
Only those which are in most general terms have been pre- 
served, and much of what seems to be a difference of ideal soon 
proves to be merely a difference in mode of expression. Thus 
the statement of Plato that " a good education is that which 
gives to the body and to the soul all the beauty and perfection 
of which they are capable " is as true as when uttered. It 
seems to lack definiteness, though extended amplification 
could make it as specific as any modern aim. Complete liv- 
ing, harmonious development, or moral character would serve 
as well as adjustment or social efficiency as far as a logical or 
ultimate goal is concerned. 

All these are general concepts which may be interpreted so 
as to give an infinite number of concrete meanings applicable 
to specific situations. Because of the peculiar interpretation 
given to " moral " character, the Herbartian aim seems one- 
sided though its advocates claim that it includes all the values 
of other aims now accepted ; because of popular and short- 
sighted notions of " efficiency " all use of the word has cccised 
to have meaning, and " social efficiency," having served its 
generation, promises soon to be cast aside, excused from ac- 
tive service, and placed among the reserves. Though an 
educational aim achieves its greatest value when related to 
specific content, no aim stated in concrete terms can receive 
wide or long-continued recognition, and however general it 
may be, popular use soon attaches a one-sided meaning which 
limits its acceptance. The process of clothing with specific 
meanings a general statement of the purpose of education is 
a valuable experience for any teacher. 

Study of aims enlightens practice. It is often said that 
those who teach have little idea of the design of their work ; 



4 The Work of the Teacher 

that they are so concerned with its mechanism that they sel- 
dom look to the direction in which they are tending. In 
schoolroom language, they are accused of teaching required 
amounts of reading and arithmetic while regarding them- 
selves as too busy to be concerned with the reason for such 
teaching or the effects upon the pupil of that which is taught. 
It may well be questioned whether teachers are less intelli- 
gent about the larger phases of their work than are the mem- 
bers of other occupations not better trained, but they are not 
equipped with a broad enough professional outlook, a fact 
admitted by the rank and file of teachers in their conscientious 
striving for better things. 

Thoughtful teachers, which includes all except a few who 
are part of the routine of their work and so without power to 
take themselves or their teaching seriously, are constantly 
raising questions as to the why, or the meaning of what they 
are doing. The true teacher's thoughts are not always con- 
fined to a search for the answer to such eminently necessary 
questions as " How can I bring this class to a knowledge of 
addition of fractions? "; "How many words should a third 
grade class read in a minute?"; or "What is the most 
economical way of memorizing a five stanza poem? " After 
all such queries are settled, larger and less easily answered 
questions remain. "Why are schools maintained?" "In 
addition to being a certain quantity of arithmetic, spell- 
ing, or geography, what is the meaning of the course of 
study? " " Since some children do not seem to care for 
much of what the school offers, why must I exert myself 
to make them care, especially for material about which 
I have never been much concerned and for which I have 
not thought out a very convincing justification, though I 



Ways of Regarding Education 5 

have been disposed to regard it as a part of the natural and 
inevitable? " 

Before consideration of the specific elements of the teacher's 
work, which constitutes the chief content of this book, a few 
educational aims are noted : they are presented as ways of 
regarding or " looking at " education in the belief that many 
teachers will find it less difl&cult to utilize viewpoints than aims. 
The teacher who is conscious of some of these larger views has 
a background and an aim ; he also has standards for weighing 
each method, device, disciplinary measure, or unit of subject 
matter and for testing educational fads so as to see in true 
perspective the insignificant details which noisy advocates 
would magnify out of all proportion to their importance. He 
has the freedom which comes with acting from principle 
rather than from rule, 

I . Education regarded as a means of transmitting social inher- 
itance. " Education as a social institution may be defined as 
the method by which a particular generation endeavors to 
incorporate the vital elements of its civilization or culture 
into the life of the generation that succeeds it." ^ It is use- 
ful to think of the school as the specialized agency for trans- 
mitting the inheritance of civilization. The idea of inherit- 
ing property or physical traits is already familiar. No less 
truly are skills, interests, ideals, and habits handed down from 
generation to generation, especially through home and school. 

The individual who has not learned to read, to care for good 
literature or music, or to be honest and industrious is a pauper 
in these fields because he has not received his social heritage. 
To add, write, spell, sing, or draw pictures ; to work hard 
and perseveringly, to be polite, fair-minded, honest, or neat ; 

1 Macvannell, 30. 



6 The Work of the Teacher 

to like a good story or book or a fine landscape ; to have a 
sense of humor or the ability to show sympathy — these, 
with thousands of more specific accomplishments necessary 
for participation in social life, are not inborn and must be 
regarded as parts of the cultural possessions of society which 
it is expected each generation will receive largely through the 
school. Viewed from this standpoint, how important the 
teacher's work becomes ! And how vital it is that the con- 
ductor of a school shall be one who has acquired a good measure 
of this inheritance ! 

2. Education regarded as a means of naturalization. A 
second useful way of regarding our work is to think of it as a 
means of naturalization. This somewhat poetic view is of 
course founded upon a comparison between the child and the 
immigrant who arrives in our country with so much to learn. 
A baby is in more than a fanciful sense a stranger ; he must 
acquire language, habits, morals, ideals, skills, attitudes, social 
standards, responsibility. To one who will make the effort, 
a daily estimate of the increasing list of situations in which a 
normally developing child progressively finds himself at home 
is well worth while. The extent of one's naturalization, as 
the term is used here, is a good measure of the breadth of his 
culture or the degree of his education. As the teacher of a 
primary class looks upon her charges, how small and help- 
less they seem ! What a group of little strangers they are and 
how much they have to learn before they can make their 
own way and feel at home in the world ! The teacher's great 
question is " How have I helped these little foreigners toward 
fuller naturalization? " 

3. Education a means of developing wide interests. A third 
useful way of regarding our work is to think of it as a means 



Ways of Regarding Education 7 

of increasing the interests of pupils. When one says, " I am 
interested " it is understood that he esteems the object of his 
interest worth while. A person who shows weak interests 
is considered passive, apathetic, or stolid ; if he has few in- 
terests but these so strong that they have dwarfed all others 
he is often properly rated as narrow-minded, an extremist, a 
bigot, or a fanatic. It is the business of the school to develop 
a wide range of permanent desirable interests, to increase the 
number of satisfying things which the child is building into 
his world. The extent of one's interests may be tested by 
what he reads, plays, works at, or enjoys. The narrow out- 
look of children from many homes presents an appalling prob- 
lem ; aside from animal gratifications it seems that they do 
not greatly care for anything worth while. Much of what 
society offers as best remains the property of a few because of 
failure to develop wider interests among those of school age ; 
it has even been said that new interests are seldom if ever 
aroused or made an integral part of character in persons more 
than twenty-five years of age. 

Most of our unused wealth is of the kind whose use would 
cost little or nothing, while contributing greatly to that rich- 
ness of experience which best measures the value of life. 
Culture itself has been defined as " training for the impersonal 
pleasures, for the unselfish satisfactions which involve no nec- 
essary deprivation for any other man." ^ The interest in cloud 
shapes, sunsets, wild flowers, stars, amateur gardening, mak- 
ing collections, stories, current events, playing games are typical 
of those which nearly all children should be led to develop. 

4. Education a means of developing social efficiency. A 
fourth and now very widely accepted statement of the pur- 

* Thomdike : Education, 47. 



8 The Work of the Teacher 

pose of education is that it aims at the development of the 
socially efficient individual. The usual interpretation of this 
aim stresses doing, — attainment for social as opposed to in- 
dividual ends. Such anti-social groups as the criminal or 
immoral ; tramps, idlers rich and poor, and other social 
parasites ; persons who lose time through preventable illness ; 
and, in less degree, those who do unskillfuUy, with inevitable 
accompanying waste, what superior training might have ac- 
complished with greater economy — all these are examples of 
failure to realize social efficiency. 

The virile grip of this conception of education makes it pe- 
culiarly applicable to social situations involving tangible ele- 
ments or those readily translated into deeds, and it is easy to 
think of an education which shall result in efficient hand- 
writing, spelling, manual or athletic activities, or even in 
efficient honesty, justice, or equanimity. The force of the 
word " efficient " which so generally gives it a meaning of 
" doing the work " or " getting results " renders it difficult 
sometimes to apply this aim to more subjective values whose 
final social worth may be the greatest. 

Thus education for efficient enjoyment of literature, sun- 
sets, leisure, vacations, or for the production of efficient art, 
anthems, or good manners seems to involve unusual use of the 
word. A school might pride itself upon an efficient heating 
plant but hardly upon an efficient landscape for the enjoyment 
of its pupils. Superficial understanding of this aim is likely 
to give undue weight to vocational as opposed to cultural 
studies. Bread-winning values are easily appraised ; the effect 
of literature, history, and linguistic subjects upon which 
common traditions and ideals insuring national solidarity de- 
pend, often defies analysis, but the stress of a world war should 



Ways of Regarding Education g 

convince the most zealous advocate of narrow practical edu- 
cation that modern democracy is not in need of bread alone. 
If efficiency is given its full meaning of that which is effective, 
fulfills its functions, or achieves results, social efficiency remains 
an excellent formulation of educational purpose. No one ob- 
jects to a demand that education shall be effective, provided 
remote as well as immediate values are given recognition. 

Proximate not superseded by general aims. In stating 
briefly the foregoing somewhat general aims it is not implied 
that teachers should be constantly dwelling upon these. 
Proximate aims will always occupy most of the time of teachers 
of children, whatever may be true of philosophers or those who 
administer education. An instructor who unceasingly in- 
quired concerning the value of each minute portion of subject 
matter, or asked himself during every class exercise whether 
what he was doing would result in social efficiency or widened 
interests would probably be a poor teacher. Yet it is profitable 
for all teachers to take serious account of what they are doing, 
and to measure results by general and ultimate standards, as 
well as by the little measuring sticks of quiz, examination, or 
objective scales and tests. What the pupil is becoming is 
the great question which includes all, and his entire life is the 
answer. 

Exercises 

I. Of the following definitions or aims of education choose one 
and show definitely why you prefer it : 

(a) "Education is that which fits a man to perform justly, skill- 
fully, and magnanimously all the offices both private and public 
of peace and war." (Milton.) 
, (b) " Education includes whatever we do for ourselves and what- 



lo The Work of the Teacher 

ever is done for us by others for the express purpose of bringing us 
near to the perfection of our nature." (J. S, Mill.) 

(c) "Education is the process by means of which the individual 
acquires experiences that will function in rendering more efl&cient 
his future action." (Bagley : The Educative Process, 22.) 

(d) ''Education as a whole should make human beings wish 
each other well, should increase the sum of human happiness and 
energy, and decrease the sum of discomfort of the human beings 
that are or will be, and should foster the higher impersonal pleasures. 
These aims of education in general — good will to men, useful and 
happy lives, and noble enjoyment — are the ultimate aims of 
school education in particular." (Thorndike : Principles of Teach- 
ing, 3.) 

(e) "The aim of education is not to fit people to get a living, but 
to fit them to live. Fitting them to get a living is, however, one 
part of fitting them to live. For many pupils it is a large part." 
(Thorndike : Education, 26.) 

2. Distinguish by illustration and by clear statement between 
ultimate and proximate aims of the school and of the teacher. 

3. Point out, as specifically as possible, the differences between 
an educated and an uneducated person. 

4. Accepting the definition you selected in the first of this list 
of questions, describe in detail the education which such an aim 
would indicate in the case of some school pupil you know. 

5. Imagine this pupil ten years after he has left school answering 
the following questions : 

(a) Are you able to make your own living, pull your own weight 
without being a drag upon others, or interfering with them? 

(b) Do you think washing dishes or hoeing in the garden are as 
respectable as piano playing or conducting a bank? 

(c) Do you know how to make friends and keep them? 

(d) Are you good for anything to yourself ? Can you be happy 
alone ? 



Ways of Regarding Education ii 

(e) Is your mind occupied with anything worth while during 
the time when your hands are busy with routine work — which 
calls for very little attention? 

In the light of your preceding answers how would he answer 
these questions? 

6. Since it is possible to construct a method without determin- 
ing the aim of education and discussions of the aim are often lengthy 
and indeterminate, is it better to discuss an aim without settling 
it or to accept an aim without discussion ? Which are more impor- 
tantj aims or methods for (a) the teacher? (b) the reformer? 
(c) the administrator ? 

Readings 

Butler : The Meaning of Education, 15-34. 
Colgrove : The Teacher and the School, VIII. 
Ruediger : Principles of Education, III-V. 
Thorndike : Education, II-III. 



CHAPTER II 

THE PUPIL AS AN OBJECT OF STUDY 

The necessity for studying pupils. The central figure in 
the educational process was late in arriving as an object of 
scientific study. In pictorial art the child was long given 
place only in symbol, — an angel, cherub, or other winged 
figure ; the eighteenth century child is portrayed in the dress 
of an adult, as a little man or woman, or as Cupid. The place 
of the child in art fairly represents his position ; if thought of 
as a flesh and blood reality he became a means, something 
incomplete and not worthy of a place upon his own account. 
With Rousseau and the naturalistic movement the boys and 
girls appear in their own right. The latter part of the nine- 
teenth century saw the beginning of the child-study move- 
ment which with all its uncertain conclusions gave us a few 
facts. 

Though scientifically established facts due to child study 
are not numerous, the attitude which admits the necessity of 
a sympathetic understanding of pupils is increasingly preva- 
lent among teachers. Lacking a body of well-established 
truth which may be acquired by study or consulting records of 
investigations, each teacher finds that his most important pro- 
fessional preparation results from a constant study of the 
pupils in his classes. The young teacher, directly from col- 
lege, training school, or high school, is likely to find pupils 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 13 

distressingly unconcerned about their own progress, with no 
discoverable intellectual interests, and possessed of less ability 
than he expected. First impressions, or those formed in the 
early days of the term are very likely to be wrong even with 
teachers of experience. All such judgments of pupils need to 
be revised constantly, and while set opinions of what to 
expect from each pupil cannot be avoided, it is at least as un- 
fortunate for a teacher to form a wrong estimate of a pupil as 
for a pupil to acquire a deep-seated dislike of a teacher. The 
instructor who says, " I am surprised at James ; he had a 
good lesson to-day," reflects the inevitable impression pro- 
duced by repeated failures. So long as one is willing to be 
surprised in this way there is no danger. Only when the 
teacher becomes blindly convinced that no good can come 
from James and cannot see his good work or attitude is it time 
to pray that insight may be given to discover the good in 
every pupil. 

To expect teachers to make intelligent or profitable study 
of their pupils without guidance leads to disappointment. 
" There is a pupil; study him," or " Make the child your 
principal textbook," offers the busy teacher nothing of value. 
In the following pages somewhat specific suggestions are 
made for securing practical acquaintance with pupils ; later 
certain fairly well established tendencies or characteristics 
which may usually be looked for are discussed. 

Suggestions for study of pupils, i. Introspection. Esti- 
mating his pupils by comparing them with himself is the 
teacher's use of introspection. " How would this command 
affect me?" "What appeal would this bit of subject matter 
have made to me at his age? " " What did I care for at his 
age ? " Remembering that he has been chosen to teach because 



14 The Work of the Teacher 

of intellectual qualities which a considerable proportion of 
pupils do not possess and that he probably cared more for 
books while a pupil than many of his present charges or their 
parents ever did, he must be on guard against a principal 
delusion of introspection. The teacher, when a child, was not 
like all his pupils now are, any more than all these pupils will 
grow up and become school teachers ; some could not and 
others would not. In either case analogies drawn from the 
teacher's own juvenile experience need to be checked care- 
fully by the facts. " When I was in the sixth grade I liked 
that story or this game ; these children ought to like it." But 
do they like it ? How many like it and which are they ? 

2. Children's questions. In the early grades children's ques- 
tions are often seemingly idle. '' Why does the wind blow? " 
' ' Why is plaster hard ? " " Why is there no hole left in the water 
when I take my finger out? " " If I fall downstairs can God 
make it that I haven't? " To the careful observer such ques- 
tions are indicative of growing interest in hidden causes. The 
child who asks many such questions and others not so difficult 
to answer is displaying to the alert teacher the exploring tend- 
encies of an active little mind. Neglecting to satisfy these 
speculative interests is not less wasteful of human material 
than is the failure to provide opportunity for activity, of which 
the school is so often and so justly accused. At a later stage 
many children are fond of asking questions which puzzle their 
companions and are delighted if they can catch the teacher. 
Pupils with strongly marked interests ask questions which 
lay open their thoughts ; in fact, a continued collection of the 
pupil's questions would constitute a chart of his mental life. 

3, School activities. The pupil as an individual member of 
a school group is a more fruitful object of study for the prac- 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 15 

tical teacher than is the same child detached from the school 
situation. Leading one or a few half-scared children into a 
psychological laboratory has the merit of eliminating from the 
study a number of uncontrollable factors always present in 
classroom observations, but though it might be necessary to 
concede their superior accuracy, such observations are not 
based upon school children. What are the stories a child 
likes to hear or read, the songs he cares to sing, or the pictures 
he draws at school ? Which subjects does he say he likes best 
or least? Why has he formed such opinions of his studies? 
Does he do his best work in the subjects of his choice ? What 
errors characterize his oral expression, his written work, his 
drawing or arithmetic? Does he follow or lead on the play- 
ground? Is he fair, honest, frank? What kind of excuses 
does he make? Observations which lead to the answer of 
these and a host of similar questions may be very significant 
in modifying the teacher's attitude. 

4. Parents and home environment. A study of parents 
sheds indirect though very illuminating rays upon the pupils 
they send to school. The unfortunate child from a bad 
home is that home brought to school ; his more favored fellow 
from a good home brings already incorporated into his very 
nature much in ideals, attitudes, habits, and manners which 
the most successful school can never develop if the home has 
not furnished the foundation. Consider the contrasts in 
these not extreme cases from a typical fifth grade. 

Pupil A. — Father unable to read ; works ten hours a day 
at hard physical labor, is especially f o'nd of low stories ; 
mother able to read hesitatingly easy selections, is industrious 
but a poor manager. Neither parent attends church, lecture 
courses or picture shows, nor are there books and newspapers 



1 6 The Work of the Teacher 

in the home. Both parents are stolidly honest but have very 
limited knowledge of the physical or mental needs of their 
large family of children. The mother's control of her family 
is weak, alternately vindictive and sentimentally relaxed; 
the father's attitude is one of sternness and repression char- 
acteristic of an earlier era, a man of few words and occasional 
great severity practiced long enough to inspire in his children 
a deep-seated dislike for their father which makes anything 
like comradeship impossible. 

Pupil B. — Father a well-to-do business man of education, 
culture, and refinement, whose good sense has kept him from 
being a slave to his occupation ; mother a graduate of a high 
class college ; her dominant interest in home life has not 
prevented participation in the social life of the community; 
both parents are companions of their children, with whom they 
ungrudgingly share many hours each week. Children from 
this hom^e have continually had access to more numerous and 
better books than the school library affords and have been 
guided in their reading and play by parents who have not 
forgotten their own happy childhood spent in an equally 
fortunate environment. 

Any teacher can profitably make an estimate of the parental 
and home resources or liabilities of his pupils. It is especially 
worth while to take time to do this very fully with extreme 
cases. There is perhaps no better way of guarding against 
unreasonable expectations than to have clearly in mind the 
meager, negative, or debasing influence of the home from which 
an indifferent pupil comes. The richer the store of previous 
experience, the more the pupil can profit by what the school 
offers. " To him that hath shall be given " means in 
education that the child who brings most to school is bene- 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 17 

fited most by attending. Yet though the teacher may reason- 
ably formulate fairly accurate expectations based upon home 
conditions, he must ever be alert to discover and develop 
ability and attitude wherever found. 

This is not an implication that the homes of the well-to-do 
are always the best for the child's development. Parents are 
sometimes so indifferent or so lacking in intelligence concern- 
ing the welfare of their children that they permit unsuitable 
food, especially too much candy or coffee, allow late hours, 
and sensational plays or film pictures, and then appear dis- 
tressed when the pupil falls behind, and accuse the teacher or 
the course of study of producing " school nervousness." 

5. The child in literature and psychology. A study of 
juvenile literature and child psychology is valuable chiefly for 
giving viewpoints for the study of the pupils in one's classes. 
The subsequent careers of those whose lives we study are re- 
flected in their biographies. Unusual characters to begin with, 
their biographers naturally search for remarkable events in 
their childhood. To be popularly interesting children of 
story books must be idealized or caricatured : perhaps the 
grotesque or ludicrous actions of Tom Sawyer represent a 
composite which might be duplicated by abstracting highly 
individualistic qualities from the pupils of many a school- 
room, though a match to this hero's character might be im- 
possible to find. Wide reading of juvenile literature descrip- 
tive of the acts of children not only adds interest to the study 
of one's pupils but helps to differentiate types and character- 
istics. 

Characteristics common to pupils. The study of psy- 
chology, as well as the practical experience for which sugges- 
tions have been offered, confirms the hackneyed expression 



1 8 The Work of the Teacher 

that " children are more alike than different." Economy of 
classroom instruction depends upon these common qualities. 
That most children resemble each other generally has per- 
haps been too much taken for granted without accurate analy- 
sis of similarities, but the literature of individual differences 
has for many years been abundant and specific. A teacher is 
better acquainted with his pupils if he is able to note their 
likenesses as well as their individualistic qualities, for one is 
discovered by study of the other ; accordingly, a few common 
characteristics are next discussed, followed by a brief state- 
ment of individual differences as they concern the teacher. 

1. Narrow, personal, specific nature of child's experience. 
The child's experience is narrow, personal, specific, and yet 
indefinite — in the first year or two of school life extremely so. 
Entering from home, he is long familiar only with home en- 
vironment; the standard of his measurements is his father, 
his mother, his pony or toy wagon. He knows little except 
what he can handle or bring to action through some motor 
channel. The restricted experience of children in the first 
years of school life may be traced in their comparisons of each 
new acquaintance with something in their own personal 
world, by their definitions, and by an unconscious selfishness 
which arranges the known world in relation to their own 
convenience. The child of primary age is three fourths ac- 
tivity, most of which the school cannot use, and only a small 
part of which he himself can direct to any accurate or well- 
coordinated purpose. 

2. Experience rather than words lacking. From the first it 
is experience which the child lacks rather than words or other 
symbols. Normally experience comes through many sense 
channels: the pupil who seems unable to express himself is 



The Pupil as an Object of Sttidy 19 

more likely to be suffering from absence of cleariy differenti- 
ated sense impressions than from verbal bankruptcy. Ex- 
perience and expression are a team which must progress to- 
gether ; the tendency of the school to drive the word member 
of the team too fast must be constantly recognized and 
checked. A child's vocabulary developed far beyond his 
experience represents emptiness ; compositions would be less 
troublesome if pupils always had something to say before 
being asked to say it in writing. Recognition of the meager- 
ness of pupils' experience and the waste and danger of verbal- 
ism in education has led to the demand that all material pre- 
sented shall be given a concrete basis. 

3. Apperceptive quality of all learning. Apperception, in- 
terpreting new experience in terms of what has already been 
acquired, is a necessary condition of all learning. To be 
assimilated, all that is presented must contain the familiar 
as well as the new. The richer the store of previous ideas the 
better the comprehension and the more rapid the acquisition. 
It is for this reason that the teacher must have a reliable 
inventory of what the child knows or has experienced ; before 
capital can be intelligently used its amount and kind must be 
known. It is upon apperception that the power of sugges- 
tion depends, for clearly no one can invoke what is not in the 
mind. A large number of wrong notions are the direct out- 
growth of the necessary tendency of the pupil to use what he 
knows or has made habitual in interpreting the new which is 
presented. Not infrequently even an uncritical observer can 
discover the projection of previously acquired and obviously 
correct ideas into new situations in which they are no longer 
true. Thus the child having built up the significance of -ed 
as the sign of the past tense, to our discomfiture carries it 



20 The Work of the Teacher 

over in his language and spelling as teached, thinked, swimmed, 
maked, and throwed; similarly he says gooder, goodest or 
hader, badest. In such cases the child's mind is working 
logically with the generalizations we have taken pains that he 
shall develop, but in a social world not always logically ar- 
ranged. All normal children make such mistakes, quite in- 
dependent of the models they imitate ; in a sense they are 
right and the language is wrong. To a limited extent these 
errors, amusing as they may seem, are an evidence that the 
mind acts consistently. They manifest the relentless logic 
of the child. " Where did he get that notion, opinion, or in- 
terpretation ? " is worth following since it often results in 
better understanding of the background from which the 
notion came. 

4. All children pass through fairly marked stages of develop- 
ment. The stages of development through which children pass 
doubtless rest upon an instinctive basis, though authorities 
are by no means agreed as to the extent of the influence of 
original nature, and the answers to any except the most gen- 
eral phases of the question are not vital to the teacher's under- 
standing of the pupils themselves. Whether building play- 
houses is the survival of a primitive instinct or the result of 
imitation, the fact remains that children pass through a stage 
of building houses. Delayed instincts there doubtless are, 
such as those upon which parenthood depends. Transitory 
instincts — those which act strongly for a time and then 
seem to disappear — are perhaps those which show a period of 
maximum activity and then wane but which never disappear 
as interests. The man who while a boy collected stamps or 
birds' eggs never quite loses his interest in these activities 
though his actual collecting may be of a different kind. Prac- 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 21 

tically all children in the earlier grades are fond of repetition 
in their stories in a degree which would be tedious to their 
companions a few years older. The sense hunger of the 
seven-year-old shows itself in a taste ior striking contrast in 
music, for vivid colors, and, in narration, in his tendency to 
exaggerate ; a few years later he normally cares for finer dis- 
criminations and more delicate tones and shades. 

Social motives may be more strongly counted upon in the 
upper grades ; love stories eagerly devoured by high school 
pupils are scorned by the typical boy of the sixth or seventh 
grade. These are merely examples of stages of development 
through which children pass; every teacher's work is made 
easier and more effective if such stages are closely watched 
and methods made to conform. To neglect or attempt to 
repress needlessly harmless interests is like the action of the 
unskillful boatman who does not understand the current : 
the boat must be propelled upstream, but to oppose the cur- 
rent with the broad side of the boat increases the difficulty 
without advantage. 

5. Diffusion. Accompanying the acquisition of any art 
there is usually much unnecessary effort. This tendency is 
called " diffusion " since a large amount of the energy put forth 
is diffused or scattered instead of being centered upon the de- 
sired accomplishment. Illustrations with which every pri- 
mary teacher is familiar are the contortions and death-like 
gripping of his book which characterize the beginner in read- 
ing, or the grimaces and finger clutchings of the first writing 
lessons. 

Though motor diffusion such as the foregoing is most easily 
detected, it seems probable that the diffusive tendency is to 
be found in all learning and that it persists in all grades. In 



22 The Work of the Teacher 

dim recognition of this the teacher often says to a pupil wres- 
tling with a difficult task, " You are making that too hard for 
yourself." Assisting one to find for himself the essential ef- 
fort necessary to the solution of his problem is one of the 
finest devices of supervised study. Diffusion being inevitable 
during initial stages, it should cause no anxiety unless per- 
sistently continued. The abecedarian usually discontinues 
his convulsive movements as soon as reading habits are 
well established ; if he does not, of course every ingenuity 
should be exhausted to prevent the fixing of awkward 
mannerisms. 

6. Pupils' interests and abilities are dirigible. The ability 
which most children possess may be directed into any one of 
several channels with nearly equal ease. What seem to be 
special aptitudes generally begin as special interests. Within 
limits it is safe to assert that a pupil likes or is successful in a 
given subject because of some relatively unimportant bit of 
his environment rather than because of inborn qualities which 
enable him to succeed in one subject and cause him to fail 
in another. The interest of the father in arithmetic and his 
equally firm conviction that " grammar is no good," a 
specially gifted or unusually stupid instructor, good or poor 
textbooks — these are familiar examples of factors which in- 
fluence pupils toward liking or disliking subjects of the cur- 
riculum. The next easily taken step is that of saying, " I 
never could get that," or " I have no head for that subject." 

Much heralded " improved methods " often illustrate the 
unattached and mobile nature of pupils' ability. By arous- 
ing strong interest or esprit de corps in the teaching force, 
sufficient stress is placed upon a given subject to achieve truly 
surprising results. These are accomplished by utilizing much 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 23 

of the energy previously otherwise directed. Spectacular 
results in teaching three or four year old children to read 
further illustrate juvenile versatility ; with corresponding 
attention the same pupils could develop equally remarkable 
attainment in drawing or writing. 

Precocious children, one or two of whom are usually be- 
fore the public as illustrations of some " modern method of 
instruction," still further demonstrate the fact that a pupil's 
ability may be directed. Aside from cases which are, upon 
careful examination, incapable of showing the remarkable 
results claimed, the advanced educational status of such 
children may usually be accounted for about as follows : 

(a) They are superior children of excellent mental and 
physical heredity. 

{b) Their environment is most favorable for an intellectual 
development of the kind which schools prize. 

(c) From their earliest years their attention has been fo- 
cused upon literary or bookish attainment. Their interests 
being different from those of most children, they have few 
playmates ; if not positively unable to agree with their com- 
panions, they at least lack qualities which render them neces- 
sary or popular in any group. Thus the energy which aver- 
age children devote to estimating their fellows, learning to 
play the game of life, becoming judges of men, developing 
social attitudes, and a certain amount of time usually wasted, 
are turned into the unusual channel of early intellectual 
achievement. In most such cases the accomplishments are 
not strikingly in excess of what any good teacher could bring 
to pass by concentrating the ability of a capable pupil in a 
few fields. A teacher who estimates the progress a bright 
pupil could make in five years of economical effort willingly 



24 The Work of the Teacher 

directed toward completion of a course of study realizes at 
once that doing three years of school work in a year of time is 
not an impossible feat. 

The examples given illustrate the possibility of guiding 
pupils' ability. As has been stated, it is uneconomical to 
run counter to interests unnecessarily ; it is equally foolish to 
omit essential subject matter because pupils dislike it. Chil- 
dren's tastes are no final guide to their needs; the capable 
teacher can present any indispensable subject matter in a 
most attractive light. It is not an exaggeration to state that 
a competent teacher can interest almost any pupil in almost 
any subject. 

Individual differences. Common characteristics noted in 
the preceding paragraphs should not blind the teacher to the 
very real individual differences existing among children of 
almost any schoolroom. All meanings in teaching are in- 
dividual ; there is no mass learning, and each pupil acquires 
what he is taught in terms of what he is. His primal instincts 
may be in powerful opposition to the very artificial process of 
education in civilized society. Or it may be, as has already 
been shown, that his environment has developed interests 
and capacities which oppose or contribute to realization of 
the ideals of the school. Noticing that pupils are tall or short, 
blonde or brunette, and that they show other marked physical 
divergences, practical experience and observation might be 
led to infer equally great mental differences ; both experiment 
and statistical evidence prove the existence of such variations 
among school children. Only by utilizing all that can be as- 
certained concerning individual differences in general and of 
his pupils in particular can a teacher develop the maximum of 
skill. To suggest viewpoints for a practical study of pupils 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 25 

is the purpose of the following classifications of ways in which 
individuals differ. 

1. Differences in type of attention. Two equally useful 
types of attention are those of the student and of the manager, 
so called for lack of better terms to designate them. The 
former is characteristic of the scholar who concentrates his ef- 
forts upon a single topic, oblivious of all others ; it includes 
the absent-minded professor, so well known to the humorous 
columns, whom we charitably credit with having his mind 
somewhere even though it is not upon practical matters ; it 
includes the pupil who, because of absorption in study, does 
not hear the signal for change of classes. The managerial 
type is represented by the boy who is always awake to 
the opportunity of being drafted for monitorial service ; who 
is ready to pick up a pencil dropped to the floor, to run 
an errand, or to see all that goes on in the schoolroom, but 
who possesses little ability or willingness to study long 
without welcome interruptions. Needless to state, every 
pupil combines these kinds of attention ; although there are 
no pure types, teachers of experience have no difficulty in 
recognizing cases to illustrate differences in power of sus- 
tained concentration. 

2 . Differences in suggestibility. Common observation shows 
that children react differently to suggestion. Attempts to 
formulate a law such as " normal suggestibility varies as in- 
direct suggestion and inversely as direct suggestion " are in- 
teresting and worthy of study even though such a law may not 
hold universally. It is probable that there is less difference 
between the positive and the negative forms in which a sug- 
gestion is conveyed than many teachers think: the little 
word " not " is insufficient to overcome the vague feeling that 



26 The Work of the Teacher 

the teacher, usually commanding or urging, wants something 
to be done. " Do not tease the primary children," " Do not 
cut switches from the shade trees," or " Do not use / as the 
object of a preposition " are very generally metamorphosed 
into a command to do something, often the deed which the 
negative order is intended to prohibit. " Not to do " is hard 
to understand ; inhibition gives no visible outlet to activity 
and so does not arrive. 

But though negation in a suggestion is likely to prove an 
ineffective abstraction, the tendency of some children to react 
negatively is well marked. The law of human stubbornness 
has been discovered by every experienced teacher. There are 
contrarient characters and perhaps all children have moments 
when their strongest tendency is to do exactly the opposite of 
what is requested or commanded. In addition to conditions 
less easily differentiated, the pupil who is timid, sensitive, 
docile, or in closest harmony with the teacher is likely to 
respond positively ; the bold, independent, fearless character, 
or the one who is " set " against the teacher is the pupil who 
balks or flies in the face of suggestion. To teachers who are 
constantly making such suggestions as, " Some pupils in this 
class are not handing in neat papers," or " Several of you are 
not making passing marks in arithmetic," a tabulation of the 
results would be enlightening. 

To employ generally suggestive terms such as the foregoing 
is monotonous and a useless repetition with the large number 
of pupils who make no response or respond negatively. It will 
usually be found that those who are most in need of increased 
effort have been slightly if at all affected ; meanwhile some 
hard-working, over-conscientious pupils have been needlessly 
excited. The oft-noted tendency of classroom teachers to 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 27 

talk excessively would be appreciably lessened if the probable 
effects of suggestion were preconsidered. 

3. Differences in thought and imagery. Pupils may be classed 
as " idea thinkers " or " thing thinkers." The idea thinker 
largely frees himself from the concrete ; he is able to analyze 
readily and to classify, to generalize, formulate, and apply 
principles. The thing thinker is likely to learn one case at a 
time ; all cases may seem to him of equal importance with the 
result that he wastes time in learning many instances when a 
single type study would serve as well. An illustration may 
make clear the difference. A pupil of the thing thought type 
might learn that fate, hate, kite, note, all contain long vowels 
but would be slow in grasping the generalization that the final 
e in such words has any significance in pronunciation. 

The essential difference between the two types is the amount 
of individual meaning or concrete imagery which must be 
carried. The idea thinker is able to carry on his thought 
processes with a minimum of the former. He thinks of a 
stony field without picturing individual stones ; in calculating 
the paper required for a wall he is not greatly conscious of the 
color of the wall or paper, or the appearance of the rolls. As 
in types of attention there are no cases of exclusively " thing " 
or " idea " thinkers, but striking degrees of difference in abihty 
to work without the concrete and the individual are to be met 
in every schoolroom. 

A difference of mental imagery used in acquiring, remember- 
ing, using, or enjoying meanings relates to the sensory basis 
of the impression. Most children acquir-e perceptions prin- 
cipally through the eye — are visualizers ; in varying degrees 
all receive auditory, olfactory, dermal, tactile, and motor im- 
pressions. Such differences depend to some extent upon 



28 The Work of the Teacher 

original nature but more upon experience. Thus because of 
his acquaintance with it a garden means to one child something 
to look at ; to another the taste or smell of vegetables is sug- 
gested ; to a third sensation of pulling weeds might be most 
evident. Mention of a selection in music might recall the 
sound of the notes, their appearance on the score, or the way 
they felt on the keys of the instrument. There are of course 
no clear types of eye, ear, or hand-mindedness, nor does it 
seem possible to make accurate analysis of such differences : 
their chief significance to the teacher is in the suggestion 
that presentation must whenever possible appeal to several 
senses. 

4. Differences in age. Differences in the age of pupils 
doing the same grade of work result in diverse attitudes and 
irreconcilable interests. While remarkable ranges of age are 
unusual, a fourth grade class in which an eight-year-old sits 
beside a child of sixteen is found occasionally. In many 
schools thirteen-year-old children are in every grade from the 
first to the tenth. A pupil of fifteen years is not likely to be- 
come enthusiastic about the catchy little devices of elementary 
drill which are so interesting to classmates of half his age. 
The precocious lad in a class of over-age eighth-grade children 
seldom makes the same emotional response to romantic lit- 
erature that characterizes his retarded but maturer com- 
panions. Chronological age and psychological age do not 
always correspond ; frequently a child of twelve is only 
eight in every form of mental attainment or attitude which 
can be measured or estimated. Though all pupils in a given 
grade may be between the ages of eight and eleven, it is 
highly probable that their psychological age shows a much 
wider range. 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 29 

5. Differences between boys and girls. Due to slight original 
differences, heightened by environment and training, girls are 
perhaps more conscientious, more suggestible, accurate, ob- 
servant of detail, emotional, and personal than boys. Boys are 
more independent, impersonal, and careless of details. Per- 
haps a more accurate form of the first statement would be 
that most girls excel most boys in the qualities named, for the 
boys are more variable, including the best and the worst, the 
highest and lowest degrees of qualities or attainments. 

6. Differences in physical and sense endowment. Differences 
between physically normal and well-fed children and those of 
poor physique or under-nourished condition are significant in 
an understanding of pupils. Ability to learn or work sus- 
tainedly, resist fatigue, endure without nervousness the 
excitement or embarrassment of class exercises or criticism 
are largely dependent upon vigorous physical condition. A 
special assignment entirely appropriate for a mature and 
robust pupil might overtax one of nervous or oversensitive 
organism. Defects of eye and ear should be discovered either 
by consulting previous records, tests, or observation ; once 
found, children who are short of vision or partially deaf should 
be given consideration, especially in seating and assignment, 
to meet their peculiar needs. No properly sensitive teacher 
readily forgives himself for reproof of a pupil who has not 
done his work because of inability to see a blackboard assign- 
ment nor does he censure a deaf child for failure to execute 
a command he has not heard. Likewise the stuttering pupil 
is unjustly dealt with if required to read or talk under the 
fear of interruption or the strain of excitement. Calm situ- 
ations, singing or rhythmic exercises, and opportunity to an- 
swer questions which may in part be repeated in the answer 



30 The Work of the Teacher 

are some of the measures which may help the stuttering pupil. 
It is the business of every teacher to discover quickly such 
defects, and, so far as possible, to prevent the inconvenience, 
loss, or embarrassment which the abnormality causes. 

7. Diferences as to discipline. Pupils who are docile or 
those who cooperate willingly and intelligently do not become 
disciplinary problems. Of the troublesome types Bagley lists 
these : (a) stubborn ; {b) haughty ; (c) self-complacent ; id) 
irresponsible ; {e) morose ; (/) hypersensitive — " touchy " ; 
ig) deceitful ; ih) vicious.^ It is manifestly better for a 
teacher to classify or think of troublesome pupils in these terms 
rather than to say that they are noisy, boisterous, careless, 
provoking, or mean, because these are descriptive of the dis- 
position and traits of the pupil which lead to habitual lapses 
or misbehavior. Proper procedure for bringing about better 
deportment begins with a discriminating estimate of the 
specific difficulty. If a pupil is persistently annoying is it 
due to obstinacy or poor memory which causes him to forget 
previous admonitions ? And if it is decided that he is obsti- 
nate, is this due to innate perversity, as teachers are some- 
times ready to believe, to wicked environment, or to a fixed 
attitude of evil intent toward the teacher because of a fancied 
injustice or affront which might be removed by a better 
understanding ? 

8. Difference in ability to do school work. Because of the 
individual difi'erences outlined in this chapter, pupils differ 
remarkably in ability to do the work of the school. It is 
quite possible to find in most large classes some pupil who has 
from three to six times as much ability as his least capable 
classmate. In a given time he can do more and better work in 

1 Bagley: School Discipline, 219-237. 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 31 

every school subject with less fatigue, and is of greater conse- 
quence in every game on the playground. His inconsequen- 
tial classmate, on the other hand, shows little capability or 
special aptitude, and without being strikingly defective im- 
presses despairing teachers in search of reasons for his in- 
capacity as belonging to the " no-minded " type. 

Though the comforting theory that every child may find 
some subject in which he is able to excel cannot be supported 
fully, the truth it does contain requires every teacher to pause 
before deciding that any pupil is impossibly and universally 
dull. If the records of superior attainment could all be tabu- 
lated, it would probably be found that leadership was more 
often developed from those who made a good school record 
than from those the school rated as inferior ; the teacher's 
rating of stupidity has never been a passport to later eminence, 
and too much prominence has been given to exceptional in- 
stances in which the school drone became famous. But be- 
fore complacently accepting his own hastily formed verdict 
that a pupil is hopeless and hardly worthy of effort the teacher 
must examine all the evidence. Perhaps irregular attendance 
has given poor preparation. If so, he might keep abreast of 
the class if once on their level. If slowness of mental move- 
ment is the difficulty, this is inconvenient, but with more time 
he may even do average work ; he may have formed a waste- 
ful study habit which, once broken, might free uselessly ex- 
pended effort. 

Lastly, there are extreme cases of special aptitudes and 
corresponding lack of ability. Such instances are compara- 
tively rare ; as has been shown, what seem to be special apti- 
tudes are often mere whims of child or parent or quite acci- 
dental likes and dislikes. Society needs every useful ability 



32 The Work of the Teacher 

developed to its maximum, and any failure to arouse or call 
forth a pupil's best is social waste ; no one should be treated 
as hopeless until every resource has been exhausted to find the 
thing he can do well. However, in our commendable zeal 
to equalize opportunity and to find a place in the intellectual 
sun for all, a comparatively small group of incapable pupils 
should not rob more versatile classmates of facilities for reach- 
ing their much fuller development. In the impossible task 
of bringing up to grade the very small per cent who can achieve 
practically nothing, we should not use time which belongs to 
the guidance of an equal number who are capable of almost 
unlimited accomplishments. 

Exercises 

1. "The children with whom we work come to us equipped with 
many native reactions or tendencies to behave. — Success in teach- 
ing depends upon a recognition of these instinctive tendencies, the 
development of some, the grafting of new but similar reactions on 
others, and the inhibition of the native reaction and substitution 
of another in still other cases. The instincts which are of impor- 
tance in education have been variously named ; among those of 
greatest significance for the work of the teacher are play, construc- 
tiveness, imitation, emulation, pugnacity, curiosity, ownership, 
including the collecting instinct, sympathy, wonder." (Strayer: 
Teaching Process, 15-16.) Show by example or otherwise how each 
of the tendencies named may be utilized by the teacher. 

2. Make a list of experiences, habits, and attitudes possessed by 
most children at the age of school entrance which should be con- 
tinued and supplemented. Which others should the school seek 
to obliterate or discourage? 

3. In what respects would a teacher who had grown up in a 
large family of children be liable to misjudge a pupil who was an 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 33 

only child ? What differences may be noted between only children 
and those who have brothers and sisters? 

4. If you know any pupils of foreign parentage, make a list of 
details in which their home environment differs from that of the 
home in which a typical American pupil of the same grade is de- 
veloping. In what significant ways are both different from the 
home in which you grew up? 

5. A child says, "I have no head for arithmetic" or "None of 
my family can spell or write." What significance have such re- 
marks for the teacher? 

6. Which phases of arithmetic were especially difficult for you? 
In the light of your present knowledge what were the specific 
reasons for your trouble? To what extent can you apply your 
analysis of the situation to the pupils you teach ? 

7. Make a critical study of the three most troublesome pupils 
in your room, considering so far as possible the following : 

(a) Home conditions, including heredity. 
{b) Previous school record. 
{c) Amusements. 
{d) Associates. 

8. Make a detailed study of the home environment of the two 
pupils in your room whom you consider most and least fortunate 
and discover as specifically as possible how wide the divergence in 
opportunity is. 

9. How many pupils in your school are better able to discuss 
current events and have a greater fund of "general information" 
than the average child of the next higher grade? Of the second 
grade above? Account for the wider intelligence of these. 

ID. "The establishment of special schools for subnormal chil- 
dren has been due primarily to sympathy ; every social argument 
valid here is equally in favor of maintaining schools for bright 
children." Based upon your own observation what are the argu- 
ments in favor of this position? 



34 The Work of the Teacher 

11. Recall or collect examples of the following : 

(a) A child using incorrect language because of the irregularity 
of our language itself. 

{b) A child seeming impolite by giving full and truthful expres- 
sion of his own opinion in a situation which made the truth seem 
inconsiderate or inappropriate. 

(c) A child over-estimating the importance of some item which 
honestly appeared to him in a different light from that in which 
the adult might view it, e.g. an exaggeration which seemed to be 
the exact truth. 

{d) Children using words incorrectly because of inadequate 
meaning. 

12. Make a list of things which seem less important to you now 
than they did while you were a pupil. A list of those which now 
appear more significant. Characterize the two lists. 

13. Show a picture to a class ; remove the picture and ask ques- 
tions concerning its important features, mentioning some details 
not present. Suppose, as an illustration, that the only woman in 
the picture is bareheaded and that no bird or dog is shown. Ask 

{a) How many birds in the air? In the trees? 

{h) Did the woman wear a straw hat? 

(c) Was the dog before or behind the people? 

{d) Was the running dog large or small? 
From tabulation of the answers what do you discover about the 
ability of pupils to respond to or resist suggestion ? 

14. A teacher posted a list of review questions remarking, "It 
seems to me that any one who can answer these questions should 
have no difficulty in the examination." Nearly every girl in the 
class was soon at work upon the questions ; a few boys took up the 
task on the second day. What characteristic difference between 
boys and girls does this illustrate? What evidence of similar dif- 
ferences between boys and girls in your classes? 

15. A teacher said, "You may whisper when it is necessary." 



The Pupil as an Object of Study 35 

Most of the pupils understood; one quite honestly asked the 
following questions : 

May I whisper to borrow a pencil ? 

May I whisper if I want a book ? 

May I whisper to find where the lesson is? 
Which of the mental types referred to in this chapter does this case 
best illustrate? 

16. Are pupils more anxious to have their side win or to see their 
own names at the top of the list ? How does the age of the pupils 
considered affect your answer to this question? 

17. How would you explain the fact that some pupils are con- 
tinually making excuses such as, 

I haven't any paper; 

I lost my pencil ; 

May I get my book? I left it in my locker ; 
while others are not known to make a single excuse of this kind 
during an entire term? 

18. If you are unable to account for a pupil's indifferent work or 
lack of interest ascertain answers to the following questions : 

{a) Does the pupil frown, lean forward toward his work, or show 
inflamed eyes? 

{b) Does the pupil breathe with mouth open? Does he "talk 
through his nose"? 

(c) Does the pupil say "What?" to all questions, read without 
expression, show postures indicating difficulty in hearing, or com- 
plain of earache? 

{d) How many hours does the pupil work outside of school? 
When does he go to bed and when get up ? 

(e) Wliat does the pupil eat for breakfast ? What for lunch ? 

19. Make a list of stories or books of fiction which might be help- 
ful to teachers because of their portrayal of child life. 

20. "Of equal importance with this attitude of discrimination 
and dififerentiation which the discerning teacher will assume toward 



36 The Work of the Teacher 

her pupils is the attitude of faith that each and every child may be 
quickened and saved, as it were, from all the evil influences of 
heredity, crime and ignorance, and even of shortsightedness and 
over-indulgence which characterize so many homes. To have faith 
in the future of uninteresting and unpromising children, to be able 
to put forth a touch of sympathy and personal interest which will 
kindle like sentiment in return, is the work of a fine spirit. How 
little one can accomplish for the life of another unless he has faith 
in the possibilities of that life ! " (Button : Social Phases of Educa- 
tion, 70.) 

What in addition to necessity of knowing the child is indicated 
in this quotation? 

Readings 

Adams: Exposition and Illustration in Teaching, V (Suggestion). 
Colvin : Introduction to High School Teaching, 11. 
Kirkpatrick : Fundamentals of Child Study, IV, XV-XVIII. 
Perry : Discipline as a School Problem, X-XII (Home Environment), 

XXII (Psychological Age). 
Strayer : The Teaching Process, II. 

Strayer and Norsworthy : How to Teach, X (Individual Differences). 
Terman : Hygiene of the School Child, XVIII (Mental Hygiene). 
Thorndike: Education, V (Individual Differences). 



CHAPTER III 

THE TEACHER'S RELATION TO THE CURRICULUM 

The meaning of the curriculum. Curriculum, as used in 
this chapter, is the subject matter of school education. The 
original meaning of the term is of more than etymological 
interest, since it remains the most valuable interpretation. 
The word meant a course through which a race was run; the 
school curriculum, rather than a measure of content or sub- 
ject matter to be acquired or in some mysterious way " gotten 
into the heads " of our pupils, consists of the experiences 
through which pupils pass. To yield the greatest value these 
must be wisely selected and carefully arranged in the most 
economical order. Out of the problems of selection and 
arrangement of curriculum material grow most of the current 
arguments and discussions concerning education. 

The curriculum as a subject of discussion. This is true 
whether we examine criticism by leaders of thought who have 
at least given the matter serious study, or the much larger 
amount of uncritical comment by those of superficial views 
and correspondingly radical expression. The former realize 
that the subject matter in which pupils are taught is of the 
most far-reaching consequence since upon -its choice depends 
the realization of educational aims. The latter, vaguely 
aware of the same view as to general aims, are likely to be 
acutely and obstinately conscious of their attitude toward 

37 



38 The Work of the Teacher 

educational details ; they can more readily attack some bit 
of subject matter which seems silly or useless than by keener 
analysis of the situation discover the shortsightedness of 
some teacher whose vision does not extend beyond a single 
textbook or permit omission of textbook material not adapted 
equally to the needs of every school or pupil. No teacher, 
without knowing the nature and purpose of the curriculum, 
can do the best work, and no one can be intelligently abreast 
of current educational literature without at least an ele- 
mentary understanding of the problems of modern curriculum 
making and opposing viewpoints as to their solution. It is 
the purpose of this chapter to discuss briefly some curriculum 
questions which touch the work of the, teacher. 

General content of the curriculum. The curriculum con- 
sists of the organized body of subject matter which racial 
experience has pronounced worthy of being passed on from 
one generation to the next. No generation ever transmits 
all the traditions intrusted to it nor all of its own discoveries, 
for in solving its problems humanity often uses methods 
which appear inadequate in the presence of other solutions. 
Every great invention renders practically useless much of 
what was once well worth teaching. Generally speaking, 
what is of greatest value is preserved, though the advantages 
of an innovation must be very great to enable it to displace 
the traditional without a struggle. 

Use of curriculum determined by biological factors. The 
curriculum as an organized body of subject matter achieves 
its function by virtue of two biological facts : 

{a) Acquired characteristics are not conveyed by heredity ; 
education either informal, — " picked up " by experience not 
educatively directed, — or formal through the school, must 



The Teacher's Relation to the Curriculum 39 

be acquired by each individual ; all babies have all to learn, 
the child of the most cultured and capable, as well as of the 
most ignorant and inefficient parents. 

(6) The long period of human infancy insures abundant 
time for securing experience. Infancy as used here signifies 
the period required to reach adult development ; in this 
sense a cricket has practically no infancy and a horse a few 
years ; a boy remains an infant about twenty-one years, 
with a tendency in most civilized lands to push the period for 
full responsibility somewhat later. 

The important characteristic of human infancy is its 
capacity for education, very slightly displayed in lower 
animals. This, upon analysis, proves to be dependent upon 
the far richer endowment of original tendencies or instincts 
possessed by the human infant. While a cat or a dog has 
fixed instinctive reactions, its " mind always being already 
made up," the more numerous undirected instincts of man 
make it possible to modify human behavior by practice 
which fixes desirable tendencies, and by allowing others to 
disappear through disuse. As an example, a child may be- 
come habitually truthful in conversation by encouraging his 
natural tendency to be straightforward in all statements, or 
by removing all situations which might give opportunity to 
indulge his native bent for exaggeration. During the long 
period of human infancy upon the basis of instinctive behavior, 
original tendencies develop and become fixed as habits, memo- 
ries, knowledge, attitudes, and ideals. The sum total of these 
changes made during the plastic stage of the individual's life 
constitutes education. 

The curriculum is constantly changing. It is in the nature 
of the case that the curriculum must be constantly under- 



40 The Work of the Teacher 

going change ; what is adapted to the needs of one generation 
is always in part useless for the next. The great body of 
material remains fairly constant ; to the teacher who is weary 
with the pupils of many school generations there may appear 
to be no change ; in certain moods it seems to be " the same 
old stuff " ; at other times it is realized that old things be- 
come ever new to each succeeding class since the pupils are 
" new " and the presentation need not remain forever the 
same. On the other hand, frequent use in educational 
literature of such expressions as " revolution in educa- 
tion " and " the new curriculum " might lead one to sup- 
pose that the subject matter of education had changed very 
rapidly. 

Curriculum changes are gradual. Introducing new sub- 
jects into the curriculum is far from being synonymous with 
making real changes in content. Upon the type of educa- 
tional reformer who condemns subject matter merely be- 
cause it is traditional, this lesson of curriculum history is 
lost; introduction of half a dozen new subjects within a few 
years seems to represent a decided break with the past, but 
examination of actual schoolroom performance shows that the 
change, though very great, is less than names of subjects 
indicate. For fifty years or more " the new education " has 
been a term of respectably indefinite usage, and still it is 
safe to assert that most of the pupils in the first six grades of 
the public school spend three fourths of their energy upon 
the same type of subject matter as that in common use at 
the beginning of this period. For the most part this is not 
because of unwarranted conservatism or failure to keep 
abreast of the times but it is owing to the fact that a large 
part of this material was then, and is now, fundamental and 



The Teacher's Relation to the Curriculum 41 

essential. The significant change most needed is to do better 
what we have long been trying to accomplish. 

Growth in amount of curriculum material results in prob- 
lems of selection. Though sweeping modifications in the 
curriculum are not wrought by a single stroke, very note- 
worthy changes are being made of which every teacher should 
be informed. If we go far enough back in curriculum history, 
it is possible to find a time when not much was known that 
could be profitably taught in school. Medieval encyclo- 
pedias were supposed to include everything ; as late as Bacon 
or Milton it was thought feasible to " take all knowledge for 
one's province " — for one man to learn all that was worth 
knowing. Even after the amount of material had greatly 
increased, conventional notions of what was appropriate in 
school kept the curriculum relatively narrow in extent. 

With the development of the modern democratic public 
school, increased demands corresponding to wider social 
changes have brought new subjects and modified the old. 
Curriculum material is more abundant than any possibility 
of its utilization ; no conventional notions are powerful 
enough in their influence to shut out increasingly direct 
impress of social life upon the course of study, but conserva- 
tism, often of the teaching craft itself, is a very real force 
when changes in the curriculum are contemplated. The ac- 
companying illustration may show how a long-accustomed way 
of doing things gains a safe position as the best way. When 
printed books began to come into use their advantages over 
those painfully copied were such that the industry of pro- 
ducing hand-made books declined, and many of its secrets, 
not being worthy of transmission, have been forgotten. 
However, the change did not come without opposition from 



42 The Work of the Teacher 

those of the old order. Many of the scholars of the time — 
and who better than scholars should be authority on books? 
— said, " The old books are more beautiful, more convenient, 
more easily read, and they cost more, which we consider a 
decided advantage, for who wants books so cheap that every- 
body will be reading? " Thus traditional influences, always 
powerful, are often strongest among members of the teaching 
profession ; it has sometimes been the conservative attitude 
of the schoolmaster himself that has resisted changes in edu- 
cation until forced through other social pressure. 

Specific changes in curriculum due to elimination and 
addition. Progress in modifying the curriculum comes 
through elimination and through addition of new material. 
Since lack of time limits the extent of what can be used, every 
addition necessitates a corresponding subtraction. Enrich- 
ing the course implies redistribution of emphasis. Entire 
subjects are seldom discontinued ; it is usually single topics, 
such as those given in the following examples, which are thus 
disposed of. A few of the types of material disappearing 
from the course of study are mentioned here. With a little 
effort others may be listed by any observant teacher who 
reads even a small amount of recent educational literature. 

{a) Many units of subject matter once practical, perhaps, 
but no longer useful, are being discarded ; examples of this kind 
are the problems of driving geese found in older arithmetics, 
best known to the present generation as something found in 
the dusty old books studied by our pioneer ancestors. As 
fewer men drive geese, such exercises lose their relation to life. 

(6) The foregoing topic is out of date ; others used by a 
small minority of those who learned them, such as Troy and 
Apothecaries' weight, have been dropped because it has been 



The Teacher's Relation to the Curriculum 43 

realized that the use of so much energy by all in learning 
what is of use to only a very small professional group is not 
justifiable. 

{c) Still other topics may have been adapted to the capa- 
bilities of the comparatively small intellectual group who 
went to school before the days of popular education, but prove 
beyond the grasp of so many in the democratic public school 
that they have been eliminated or postponed for the sup- 
posedly more select group of high school or college; of such 
nature is much of the old grammatical analysis ; arithmetical 
processes better comprehended through the avenues of algebra 
or geometry are of the same type. 

{d) It seems, further, that occasional units of subject 
matter have been included in the curriculum because of the 
eccentricity of a textbook writer, or his demand for a severely 
logical structure which may never have conformed to reality. 
As an example, the rule is found in many old grammars and 
rhetorics that a preposition should never stand at the end of 
a sentence, in spite of the fact that first-class writers of Eng- 
lish have always regarded a preposition as " a good word to 
end a sentence with." The over-elaborated inflection of 
grammar carried over from the classic languages is another 
example ; if most inflections for case and gender are lacking 
in English nouns it is useless to teach them as mere forms. 
Especially numerous are such examples of foisting personal 
experience upon a long-suffering school public in textbooks 
on physiology and hygiene. As scientific knowledge replaces 
individual opinion, we may expect better things in the com- 
paratively new subjects, and in all a pragmatic age is apply- 
ing its relentless " why " in getting rid of such curriculum 
excrescences. 



44 The Work of the Teacher 

Conservative and progressive attitudes toward new sub- 
jects. Social changes which have left many units of subject 
matter without function have also developed much new and 
exceedingly valuable material which is gradually being incor- 
porated into the curriculum. History, physiology, drawing, 
music, manual training, and elementary science under various 
names have been added to the elementary school curriculum ; 
music appreciation, sex-instruction, physical education, agri- 
culture and other forms of prevocational education, as well 
as moral training and vocational guidance, are now presenting 
their claims. Elimination has not proceeded as rapidly as 
addition and the overcrowded curriculum is the result; 
pupils are accused of attempting too many things and of doing 
nothing well. 

In the arguments concerning what shall be eliminated, 
retained, modified, or added to the curriculum " what knowl- 
edge (experience) is of most worth? " becomes the center of 
the controversy. For the older subjects the conservative 
(not of necessity an " old fogy ") says, " This material has 
been tried and found good ; most of the eminent men now 
living studied it and perhaps owe much to the curriculum 
through which they passed. I studied it and have found it 
as valuable as anything in my education. It is thoroughly 
organized ; well-trained teachers and good textbooks insure 
its proper presentation. Your proposed new material is 
doubtless of value, but it is not well systematized. Few who 
can teach know anything about it and such books as have 
been published are very poor. There can be little mental 
training in a field where no better school work is possible. 
It should be taught by parents, by special teachers as an 
accomplishment, or learned in practical trade experience." 



The Teacher's Relation to the Curriculum 45 

The progressive (not of necessity a radical) answers, ' ' What 
you say about the material of the present curriculum is true ; 
it should be remembered, however, that while you profited 
greatly by study of the older subjects many of your class- 
mates cared little for them ; while many teachers do excellent 
work with these, not a few are treating them in a dry, formal, 
empty fashion since they have little relation to modern life. 
Ideally, perhaps, some of the new material I am pleading for 
should be taught in the home but it seldom is ; some of it 
may be picked up practically but that method is uneconomical 
and too uncertain, and the new material is of so nearly uni- 
versal value that it is unfair to leave it for those who can 
employ private teachers. * Squeeze your subject over a little ' 
or eliminate parts of it so that more valuable subject matter 
may find a place ; let the old take less time and give the new 
a little. Good teachers and good books will soon be avail- 
able. So far as mental training is concerned, that is not in 
the subject but in the teaching; no branch of study has a 
monopoly of qualities that train the mind." By such general 
arguments as to its content is the reorganization of the 
curriculum attended. Important differences of opinion con- 
cerning the general function and character of curriculum 
material will next be examined. 

Opposing theories ; cultural contrasted with vocational 
curriculum. In supplying content for ultimate educational 
aims noted in the introductory chapter, one soon becomes 
conscious of the fact that many long-discussed questions 
remain unsettled. This means that excellent argument may 
be produced to support contending opinions. Only a one- 
sided debate could grow out of the question of the necessity 
of having well-trained teachers; method discussions now 



46 The Work of the Teacher 

arouse little fighting zeal because of a deep-seated conviction 
that no plan is universal or indispensable ; but in relation to 
the curriculum there are sharper dififerences of belief upon 
important issues. It may easily be seen that the differences 
which divide curriculum thinkers according to the accompany- 
ing lists are vital since they represent opposed opinions con- 
cerning the function of education in society. 

Education for Culture Education for Vocation 

Should be Should be 



Theoretical 
General 
Indirect 
Abstract 



rather than 



' Practical 
Specific 
Direct 

. Concrete 



Advocates of the opinions represented in the cultural list 
are inclined to stress knowledge and education for leisure ; 
of the vocational, ability to do and earn wages. The first 
stresses the value of a trained mind well equipped with 
general notions and stands for late specialization ; the second 
emphasizes specific content which may be applied and calls 
for earlier specialization. From the standpoint of mental 
differences the first is more concerned with idea thinkers than 
with thing thinkers or those who must immediately translate 
thought into action. According to social and economic 
status the first is likely to have in mind the child who remains 
long in school and is preparing for a professional career, while 
the second includes in his thinking those who will leave school 
early to enter various trades. 

In considering the opposing viewpoints outlined in this 
section, as well as those in current educational literature in 
which this chapter is designed to interest the reader, it should 



The Teacher'' s Relation to the Curriculum 47 

be remembered that differences of opinion are often linguistic ; 
this is nowhere more evident than in the use of the terms in 
the foregoing opposed lists : two persons who seem to differ 
radically as to whether school education should be made more 
"practical" often have remarkable differences of opinion 
as to what the term "practical" includes. In the same 
connection it should be noted that extreme positions are 
seldom taken by thoughtful writers ; making due allowance 
for radical statements of merely rhetorical nature, it is usually 
found that neither party to a controversy over the curriculum 
would seriously propose sudden or revolutionary changes in 
established practices. The declaration that half of the present 
elementary school curriculum is "dead wood" does not mean 
that the one who pronounces so unfavorable a verdict would 
replace half of it with something else. Such utterances are 
usually vaguely indicative that much of what is now used is 
of no great value and could well be discarded. 

Those who believe in a general curriculum rather than 
direct or specific preparation claim that children in the ele- 
mentary schools are too young to specialize or choose a voca- 
tion, and too immature to be trained effectively if one were 
selected. Much of what is proposed as vocational has no 
great educational value and could be more economically 
acquired while in the shop or at work. The value of the school 
curriculum consists largely in giving pupils acquaintance with 
some of the great thoughts, ideals, and achievements of the 
world with which they would never come in contact in worka- 
day experience. Early in life they will feel the narrowing 
influences of their calling in any case ; as the routine of doing 
over and over the same thing is forced upon them and gets 
into their very soul, it is important that they be larger than 



48 The Work of the Teacher 

their work. For adequate participation in civic and social 
life, one must have experience extending beyond the walls 
of the shop, knowledge not bounded by market reports or 
rotation of crops. " Born an American, died a mechanic, a 
farmer, a dentist " represents the inevitable tendency of each 
to become his chosen work. Let it be at least, " Born and 
educated an American." Defer the day of narrow interests 
awhile. Thoughts and conversation about things not in the 
daily routine contribute more to good citizenship and an 
understanding of " who is my neighbor " than the petty 
gossip of daily occupation. Why spend school time upon 
what will be many times over-learned ? 

Naturally those who favor giving the curriculum a more 
direct training value are constantly alleging that the more 
general subject matter " does not function." Not being 
used, it is soon forgotten or remains a thing apart from life, 
of no consequence except at school. And whatever use 
might be made of such general material is only partly realized 
because too large a per cent of children, perhaps on account 
of the curriculum itself, leave school so early in life ; they are 
unwilling to remain in school studying subjects which seem 
to lead nowhere. 

Present use contrasted with preparation : the problem 
curriculum. A further difference of opinion relates to the 
extent to which preparation for the activities of adult life 
can be made an outgrowth of the problems of childhood. 
This is quite as much a question of method as of curriculum. 
There is certainly much to be said in favor of an arrangement 
in which a pupil really needs a unit of subject matter in his 
" business." If it is evident that lesson material is to be 
needed in playing a game, it will be learned in the minimum 



The Teacher's Relation to the Curriculum 49 

of time. The advocate of the " problem curriculum " makes 
the following claims : 

(a) If material is an outgrowth of the child's own activities, 
motive for its mastery exists. Learning the use of tools in 
order to build a playhouse ; of arithmetic to count the cost ; 
and writing real invitations to a school party are examples 
of motivated school subjects. 

(b) Material thus learned becomes an integral part of the 
pupil ; it comes to him as his other experiences have come — 
not in isolation as reading, language, or certain rules in arith- 
metic or grammar, but as a means or part of a way of doing 
things. If the pupil's education has consisted of solving his 
own problems, he will never say to his employer, " I made 
that mistake because I did not remember whether [to use the 
rule that used to be at the top or the one on the bottom of 
the page," or " I didn't know whether to use square or cubic 
measure." 

(c) If considerable time elapses between acquiring and 
using knowledge, much is sure to be forgotten ; this type of 
curriculum brings use so close to learning that it is sometimes 
said to substitute doing for listening. 

(d) It may also be shown that some of the material taught 
because it will be needed in later life is quite beyond the com- 
prehension of pupils; in such cases what seems to have been 
forgotten was in reality never learned. 

Counter to these claims, it is said, material adapted to 
immediate needs of children is sure to be of haphazard, un- 
organized nature ; learning entirely through the child's prob- 
lems is very slow ; since most problems do not arise in child 
life until the teacher painfully devises situations in which 
they will confront them, the practical difl&culties of such an 



50 The Work of the Teacher 

arrangement altogether outweigh any theoretical advantages. 
Again, in formulating any problem curriculum, much must be 
left to the individual teacher, which means that a great deal 
of personal, local, and insignificant material will be taught. 
It is confessedly impossible to convert all that should be part 
of the curriculum into experience which the child can now 
use. It is more than doubtful whether pupils are inspired 
by a strong enough motive to master effectively such neces- 
sary bits of subject matter as the multiplication table or to 
correct spelling habits because of a desire to solve any or all 
of their own little problems. 

It is likewise a question whether children work at acquiring 
such essential school arts with more zeal than under the in- 
spiration of ordinary school incentives. The so-called prob- 
lem curriculum seems to be a device of great value in vitalizing 
certain units of subject matter in which something is to be 
made or done, and sometimes in language when ideas are to 
be turned to immediate account. Its strength is found also 
in the hold it takes of community life outside of school. 

The teacher's relation to criticisms of the curriculum. As 
has been noted, much criticism of the course of study is made 
by laymen. Some of this is very intelligent and worthy of 
study ; some, on the other hand, is of little force but still 
merits sympathetic notice since it enables teachers better to 
understand the parents of the children they teach. In no 
other country perhaps is there so much discussion of educa- 
tion by all sorts and conditions of men and women. A Euro- 
pean asking for information concerning American education 
was told : " Ask the first man you meet on the street ; every 
one knows how to conduct the schools in the United States." 
This strong interest in the public school is one of the great 



The Teacher^ s Relation to the Curriculum 51 

educational assets of our country, and when shown by honest 
even though unintelligent and unfriendly criticism, should be 
respected, understood, and when possible utilized to increase 
popular knowledge of the problems and needs of the schools. 

It is the business of teachers as well as administrators to 
take discerning notice of criticisms of the course of study. 
Such criticisms are seldom conveyed in the form of outright 
fault finding, and in fact are often in a decidedly humorous 
vein like the examples at the close of the chapter. A very 
common type is that of the business man who employs part 
of the product of the school. His usual criticism is in essence 
that the school is teaching too many subjects and not doing 
fundamental work as well as it once did — while he was in 
school perhaps. Specifically the fault is found to be the 
results in writing, spelling, and arithmetic. " He cannot 
write a decent letter nor add a column of figures correctly — 
what less could reasonably be expected? " 

Occasionally force of criticism becomes so strong as to result 
in a demand through a local board of education that more 
time must be devoted to these subjects — usually by all 
pupils regardless of their proficiency. Such demands, as a 
rule, result in a slight improvement of a few pupils, much loss 
of time by others, and a considerable degree of dissatisfaction 
upon the part of teachers. Some of these unwise regulations 
would be rendered unnecessary if teachers were more ready 
to profit by local criticism and even sometimes to answer it 
effectually. 

The business man's criticism just mentioned might not be 
hard to refute. He is likely to consider his present ability in 
speUing or arithmetic to be practically the same as that with 
which he left school, whereas he has probably acquired much 



52 The Work of the Teacher 

of what he uses since leaving school ; perhaps, too, outside 
of the very narrow range of accomplishments necessary in 
his business, he is himself neither very intelligent, quick, nor 
accurate — not more so than the mistake-making pupil he 
has employed and found wanting. The best part of the school 
product is not usually at his command, and it is hardly fair 
to judge the school by the economically unfortunate who 
must early begin to earn wages, or those of the mental tj^e 
that find all learning irksome. 

Absolute accuracy, such as is sometimes demanded, is 
hardly to be expected of fourteen-year-old children — possibly 
not more to be looked for than perfect steadiness in a two- 
year-old colt. And, to the oft-raised question " Are the 
schools doing as thorough and accurate work as formerly? " 
the answer must be given : " Such tests as have been made, 
using old sets of examination questions and examining old 
letter files, indicate that they are. More good spellers and 
writers are being trained by the schools every year. Of course 
many now leave without acquiring accuracy of any sort, but 
that has always been the case. The modern school must 
take all the children of all the people and do its best for them. 
As public school education is made universal and compulsory, 
it is only reasonable to assume that a considerable per cent 
of the increased attendance is among those for whom the 
school can do the least. It is unreasonable to expect a finished 
product, regardless of the quality of the raw material." 

But standards of attainment in fundamentals are by no 
means as high as they should be and must become, and another 
criticism in the form of numerous school surveys has been 
driving home the lesson of the need of more frequent and 
effective drill upon the same subjects in which the business 



The Teacher's Relation to the Curriculum 53 

man has most sharply criticized results. To the wise teacher 
this calls for a shifting of emphasis as to parts of the curriculum 
and to a greater degree more efi&cient use of time through 
vitalized methods. 

Teacher's relation to the local course of study, (a) The 
specific course of study adopted for a group of teachers must 
be adopted by them as well. That is, the school's best interests 
demand that all shall cooperate willingly to carry out its pro- 
visions. It may be unsatisfactory in many particulars — 
not as good sometimes as the teacher could have made — 
but once adopted by duly constituted authority it should be 
followed. Open or public unofficial faultfinding is bad pro- 
fessional etiquette and usually accomplishes nothing. No 
good course is minutely mandatory in its provisions ; this 
renders it easier to follow, permitting the teacher to omit 
what seems non-essential or is sure to be presented later, 
and to emphasize what appears most vitally significant. By 
pursuing a liberal attitude, interpreting broadly and supple- 
menting freely, good teachers are constantly making rich and 
effective courses out of those which are meager enough as 
printed. 

{b) In making an honest effort to use a course of study, 
thorough understanding is an important step. Frequently 
a new course is condemned before being comprehended. 
Many are temperamentally set against change ; their first 
reaction toward any innovation is negative. If such persons 
render a verdict before thorough and intelligent study, it is 
almost certain to be unfavorable. A group of this type, after 
indulging in every form of pedagogical lament because they 
believed essential material had been omitted from a new 
course of study, later found it without change except as to 



54 The Work of the Teacher 

page numbering. A common complaint from rural teachers 
is that the state course of study " may be very good, but does 
not fit the country school." In helping such teachers county 
superintendents often find that the complainants have not 
read their course and even express honest surprise when 
valuable features new to them are pointed out. Under present 
rural conditions an essential part of the preparation of every 
teacher should be several months spent in mastering the course 
of study in use. In graded schools it should be remembered 
that understanding the course of study for a given class is not 
like the desultory reading of a detached chapter in a book; 
what precedes and follows needs to be thoroughly understood, 
and various sequences and correlations between subjects and 
grades must be thought out. 

(c) Teachers should aid in revising or modifying the course 
of study. It is only the worst course that cannot be improved, 
and only the poorest school officials who will not listen to 
reasonable suggestions from teachers who know the material 
they teach as no one else can. To render effective their par- 
ticipation in course of study making, teachers' suggestions 
must be tangible and positive. To say, " I don't like this 
course of study; it is too obscure," or "It has too much in 
it " is of much less value than to state specifically wherein 
the meaning is not plain, or to name the material which could 
advantageously be left out. 

Exercises 

I. In some countries promising children, especially those of well- 
to-do families, are educated for leadership with a different curric- 
ulum from that in which the rank and file are trained. How does 
the school exercise its selective function in this country ? 



The Teacher's Relation to the Curriculum 55 

2. A useful classification of curriculum subjects is that oi form 
and content. Form or formal subjects are those used as a means. 
Thus penmanship is considered formal since, as a rule, one writes, 
not for the sake of writing, but to express or record something. 
Content subjects contain information or enjoyment worth while 
in itself ; history and literature are content subjects. In general, 
form subjects are those we do ; content those we know or enjoy. 
List the elementary branches as belonging to the form or to the 
content group; then show that each contains elements of both 
form and content. 

3. What difference exists between a course of study based upon 
the "present need" theory and one upon the "future use" theory? 
After reading the accompanying quotations state the arguments 
for each of these types of curriculum. 

(a) "The conditions may be reduced to two : (i) The need that 
the child shall have in his own personal and vital experience a varied 
background of contact and acquaintance with realities, social and 
physical. This is necessary to prevent symbols from becoming 
a purely second-handed and conventional substitute for reality. 
(2) The need that the more ordinary, direct, and personal experience 
of the child shall furnish problems, motives, and interests that 
necessitate recourse to books for their solution, satisfaction, and 
pursuit." (Dewey: The School and the Child. London, 1906. 123.) 

(6) "Mr. Dewey, in other words, would have the mastery of 
race experience await upon the exigencies of individual need. 
That race experiences are assimilated most readily in direct rela- 
tion to these immediately felt needs it would be futile to deny, 
and we have gladly given credit to Mr. Dewey for enriching educa- 
tional theory with this important truth. Certainly no one has 
done so much as he to clarify our thinking as to what really con- 
stitutes a 'real situation,' — as to what is really meant by the 
pedagogical dictum, 'Proceed from the concrete to the abstract.' 
But even in Dewey's teachings what constitutes a 'real situation* 



56 The Work of the Teacher 

is not always easy to determine ; and here, as elsewhere in educa- 
tion, there is danger of pushing a good principle far beyond the 
limits of its economical application. Mr. Dewey's theory, as most 
of his readers will interpret it, leaves no place for two fundamental 
educational needs: (i) the systematic mastery of race experience 
during the period of childhood and youth ; and (2) the insurance 
of a relatively large number of common elements in the culture of 
all the people. These aims are truly difficult of accomplishment, 
but Mr. Dewey's doctrine makes the difficulty so great as in effect 
to constitute an impossibility, — and this it is not, unless the ideal 
of democracy itself is an impossibility ; this it is not if the testi- 
mony of actual experience in teaching children and adolescents is 
to be trusted." (Bagley, in School and Home Education, October, 

1915-) 
4. Perhaps the majority of persons who are asked what general 

changes should be made in the elementary curriculum declare 

themselves in favor of "more practical education." This appears 

reasonable enough until the inquiry takes the form, "What is 

practical?" If the term is interpreted to include only what helps 

in gaining a livelihood or "making money," our civilization will 

become, according to Mr. Balfour, "only an elaborately organized 

barbarism." Among the less direct but most important purposes 

of education in our democracy are the following : 

{a) An acquaintance with our national history and the meaning 
of political liberty as Americans understand it. 

{b) Destruction or prevention of provincial, racial, and class 
prejudices through increased sympathy and cooperation because 
of an understanding by each of the ideals, attitudes, and pursuits 
of all. 

To what extent can these purposes be realized by means of an 
extremely practical curriculum? 

$. Try to think of subjects or topics you learned under a good 
teacher which have been entirely useless to you. What is meant 



The Teacher^ s Relation to the Curriculum 57 

by "entirely useless" in this case? What better could you have 
been given? 

6. What relation can you discover between the present course 
of study and the fact that so large a number of children leave 
school before completing the elementary grades? Is your opinion 
based upon mere impression, unverified statements of radical the- 
orists, or upon specific evidence ? 

7. It is sometimes said that no course of study can be devised 
which will meet the needs of more than one locality ; granting that 
the content of any course of study must be applied locally, answer 
the following questions : 

(a) Should different spelling lists be provided for city and 
country ? Which words in a given spelling book of your acquaint- 
ance should be omitted in each case? Why? 

{h) What per cent of the time devoted to history should be con- 
sumed in a study of the history of your village, town, city, or com- 
munity ? 

(c) Which problems in the arithmetic you studied or are now 
teaching are useless in your community but of great value 
elsewhere ? 

(J) Which is of greater value to a pupil, time spent in a 
thorough study of the geography of his own town or county in 
which he will probably spend his life or of the country and the 
world, most of which he will only read about ? In answering this 
question consider the fact that he will in both fields "pick up" 
much by practical experience and reading the newspaper. In this 
connection how much of the content of the geography course 
adapted to your vicinity would be unsuitable in a similar com- 
munity a hundred miles distant? 

{e) In the light of the foregoing answers what per cent of the 
content of a good course of study is needed by all the children in 
your state and how much of it should be local ? 

8. It has been established by numerous studies that more chil- 
dren fail of promotion because of arithmetic than on account of 



58 The Work of the Teacher 

any other study. What may be said in support of each of the fol- 
lowing reasons for so many failures? 

(a) Arithmetic is a more difficult subject. 

{b) Children fail in arithmetic because they are unable to read 
rather than because of insuperable mathematical troubles. 

(c) Because of the nature of the subject results are more easily 
tested than in other branches ; children may fail as completely in 
other subjects but are not found out. 

{d) Teachers are more poorly qualified to teach arithmetic than 
other subjects. 

9. Placing a new subject in the course of study does not insure 
getting it into the lives of pupils. This may be due to poor organi- 
zation of the subject itself, lack of acquaintance with the subject 
upon the part of teachers, or unwillingness to teach it. Give an 
example of the introduction of a new subject which was more ap- 
parent than real. 

10, From current newspapers select criticisms of the curricu- 
lum. Are they mainly favorable to greater emphasis of the "new" 
or of the "old" subjects? Notice that many of these take humor- 
ous form as in the following : 

{a) His Training. — "Well, boy, what do you know? Can you 
write a business letter? Can you do sums?" 

" Please, sir," said the applicant for a job, " we didn't go in 
very much for those studies at our school. But I'm fine on bead- 
work or clay modeling." {Louisville Courier- Journal.) 

(b) A Parent's Plea. — 

My boy is eight years old, 

He goes to school each day ; 
He doesn't mind the tasks they set — 

They seem to him but play. 
He heads his class at raffia work, 

And also takes the lead 



The Teacher's Relation to the Curriculum 59 

At making dinky paper boats — 
But I wish that he could read. 

They teach him physiology, 

And, oh, it chills our hearts 
To hear our prattling innocent 

Mix up his inward parts. 
He also learns astronomy, 

And names the stars by night — 
Of course he's very up-to-date, 

But I wish that he could write. 

They teach him things botanical, 

They teach him how to draw, 
He babbles of mythology 

And gravitation's law; 
And the discoveries of science 

With him are quite a fad ; 
They tell me he's a clever boy, 

But I wish that he could add. 

— P. McArthto, in Life. 

Quoted by permission of Life. 

Readings 

Bagley : Educative Process, I-III. 
Butler : The Meaning of Education, 3-15. 
Fiske : The Meaning of Infancy, III. 
Ruediger : Principles of Education, X. 
Spencer: Education, 1-87. 
Thorndike : Education, Vll-Viil. 



CHAPTER IV 
THE TEACHER IN RELATION TO EXTERNAL ELEMENTS 

The large number of elements of the school situation treated 
in this chapter include those somewhat external to the teach- 
ing itself, which involves primarily the child, the teacher, and 
the course of study in action. Though no hard and fast lines 
can be drawn in classifying externals, convenience may be 
served by discussing them in four groups. 

In the iirst of these, embracing such matters as the school 
site, building, and heating, the teacher is limited by material 
fixtures — resources they may be called — which show a 
tendency because of poorly executed plans or of expert pre- 
vision to pass over into the field of permanent liabilities. 
Thus a schoolroom which is dark or ill ventilated is a con- 
stant danger to pupils' eyesight or general health; narrow 
stairs, inadequate exits, or infolding doors become sudden 
dangers in case of fire or panic. The second group of external 
elements has likewise a material basis in the form lof equip- 
ment, but is more closely related to teaching itself ; in this 
will be considered blackboards, maps, charts, the library, and 
other accessories which teacher and pupils use in instruction 
or as educative environment. 

In the third and fourth divisions of the chapter the discussion 
will relate to such parts of the teacher's work as have to do 
with administrative organization and procedure, including 

60 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 6i 

measures necessary to conserve the health of pupils. Though 
not related directly to instruction, much of the success of 
teaching depends upon their effectiveness. In these, sub- 
ject to the limitations imposed by material environment dis- 
cussed in the first two divisions, the teacher is supreme, re- 
sponsible alike for success or failure. 

A. Fixed Elements of School Environment 

Why teacher's ideals should be intelligent concerning 
school environment. With regard to the first of these groups 
there is Uttle need for a lengthy discussion in a work of this 
kind. The school site is chosen, the building or room has its 
shape, hghting, heating, and ventilation — good or bad — 
before the teacher takes up the work, and no matter how 
nobly dissatisfied one may be, what is fixed remains fixed. 
And though there has been marked improvement in the at- 
titude of the public, school teachers and officers are not al- 
ways accorded effective attention when new sites are chosen 
or new buildings constructed. Yet because of the occasional 
possibility that a word spoken in season might result in better 
housing, and because, in spite of limitations, alert teachers 
can often improve the physical environment of their pupils, 
it is worth while to present the essential facts as to what is 
approved by our best school authorities. The ideals of 
teachers are powerfully influenced by the environment in 
which they attended school ; a statement of accepted standards 
affords a means of testing these ideals as well as providing a 
measure of a given school plant. 

The school site. The school site should of course be ac- 
cessible, though this should not be taken to indicate the 



62 The Work of the Teacher 

geographical center nor the center of population in all cases. 
The " central location " idea too often leads to neglect of 
more important factors. From the standpoint of health, a 
timely consideration of water supply, soil, and drainage, near- 
ness to swamps, dusty roads, air-obstructing cliffs or forests 
in the country, and factories of various kinds and high build- 
ings in the city are of vital importance. The presence of dis- 
tractions should be guarded against. 

On a one-acre triangle inclosed by three railroads stands a 
small ward school building. Every pupil in the upper grades 
learns without a teacher to draw pictures of engines, col- 
lects engine numbers, counts cars, spends many patient 
hours watching for expected regular trains, and the bolder 
spirits develop no mean ability in " hopping " trains. In a 
country school, so located as to command view of a long 
stretch of much-traveled road, one teacher scolded, another 
whipped, and a third pasted newspapers over the windows to 
prevent the pupils staring at passing traffic. All were wrong, 
but none more foolish than the community which placed and 
constructed the building. 

The school ground. The school ground should be large 
enough to afford a playground and some room for ornamental 
gardening as well as a school garden wherever the latter proj- 
ect is practicable. Making a ball ground of a farmer's meadow 
or wheat field, breaking windows of near-by buildings, and play- 
ing in streets where truck drivers have a legal right to pursue 
their business without danger of running down children or 
being hit with stray missiles, are all circumstances which it is 
part of the teacher's business to prevent, but most trouble- 
some cases would never occur if the community had given 
pupils the simple justice of providing a place to play. Play- 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 63 

ground considerations require, in addition to size and reason- 
able levelness, that the ground shall not be rendered useless 
during months of each year because of mud or water. By 
the use of gravel and concrete, grading, and attention to 
drainage, it should seldom be necessary for pupils to do with- 
out an out-of-door playground long at a time. Esthetic 
standards also protest a site so flat that it cannot be drained. 

Proper moral environment. Finally, proper moral tone of 
the school's environment Ughtens the teacher's work and 
makes character results possible. Without being more 
specific it may be stated generally that no school should be 
located near a loafing place of men and youth. In addition 
to the low character sure to be part of conversation in such 
places, much of what is innocent enough in its nature is mis- 
understood and for that reason better unheard. As a corollary 
to what has been said no haunt of idlers or resort for leisure 
hours should be allowed to develop in great proximity to the 
school. This is one of the arguments given for placing the 
consolidated school in the open country rather than in a 
village, however small. 

Improvement of school site and ground, i. School gar- 
dens. It is usually possible for the rural teacher to make im- 
provements in the school ground and its use. Because of 
comparatively short terms, school gardens are often imprac- 
tical. The patches of weeds into which they soon evolve 
while the teacher is at summer school possess little educa- 
tional and no esthetic value ; a busy community forgets the 
school-yard garden in the presence of greater economic in- 
terests. When adequate provision is made for " seeing the 
school garden project through " it is very much worth 
while. 



64 The Work of the Teacher 

2. Arbor day. The meager results often attending Arbor 
Day celebrations are due as a rule to unwise selection of 
varieties of trees, improper or hasty planting, and failure to 
give newly planted trees needed attention or at least im- 
munity from destruction outright. After a serious attempt 
upon the part of a teacher and school to start trees or shrubs, 
during succeeding years all is neglected : pupils make play 
horses of promising growths and teachers even prune trees to 
aid in discipline. When rural teachers are more permanent 
in tenure, their Arbor Day work will be better done. What 
has been said is not intended to disparage school gardening or 
Arbor Day celebrations, for both may yield excellent divi- 
dends to school and community. Permanent responsibility is 
needed, without which little is gained by starting these en- 
terprises. 

3. Other measures of improvement. There are numerous 
other measures which even the one-year teacher can take to 
improve the external condition of building and ground. 
Without discussion a few of these are mentioned. 

(i) Take vigorous interest in the annual clean-up day now 
so generally observed. It may well be argued that " keeping 
up is better than cleaning up," or that such campaigns are the 
affair of the local community and should not be made part of 
the already large list of the teacher's responsibihties, but the 
" God of things as they are " gives teachers many duties not 
expressed or implied in contracts. 

(2) Persuade the community to paint the school build- 
ing, give it a new roof, or make other constructive im- 
provements. Adding a basement room is often one of these 
possibilities. 

(3) In some thousands of cases remnants of once-needed 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 65 

fences should be removed ; the ash pile at or near the front 
entrance should be turned into needed walks. 

Other improvement measures are sure to suggest themselves 
to the alert teacher. An observing visit to a school plant 
which embodies most conditions as they ought to be is likely 
to open one's eyes to removable defects in the environment of 
his own school. 

Size and shape of classrooms. The proper size of a class- 
room may be stated as requiring from fifteen to thirty square 
feet of floor space per pupil, or at least two hundred cubic 
feet of air space for each. Considering shape as well as size, 
the oblong rather than the square type meets requirements 
for Ughting and acoustic effects. A typical room should be 
from twenty-eight to thirty-two feet long, not more than 
twenty-four feet wide, and unless unusual lighting conditions 
are present, about twelve or thirteen feet high. In a room 
more than twenty-eight feet long many teachers find it dif- 
ficult to make their voices carry to the rear seats, pupils who 
should be learning to talk with ease are not heard without 
what seems to them shouting, and pupils in the rear of the room 
are unable to read blackboard, chart, and map material. 
Though the classroom teacher cannot change the shape or 
size of the room it is often possible to shorten a room that is 
too long or by changes in seating or arrangement of furniture 
to enlarge one which is too small. 

Schoolroom lighting. Proper lighting involves amount, 
direction, and control. The amount of light should be suf- 
ficient to prevent strong shadows when a pencil is held verti- 
cally above a sheet of paper on the surface of a desk. In 
general, window space should be from one fourth to one sixth 



66 The Work of the Teacher 

as great as floor space, depending to some extent upon the 
presence of projecting walls, trees, or other buildings. Light 
should be admitted from the left and rear — never from the 
front ; windows should be high and extend nearly to the ceiling ; 
cross-light should be avoided and windows massed together, 
approaching a unilateral arrangement where possible. Shades 
can be used to control the amount and direction of light, the 
most practicable usually being those which roll both up and 
down from the middle, thus making it possible to exclude a 
glare or the direct rays of the sun by shading at will any part 
of the window. To conserve light, walls should be tinted buff 
or a very light green and the ceiling should be white. East 
or west lighting has advantages over that from north or 
south, the latter being especially objectionable because of the 
impossibility of avoiding direct rays and strong reflections. 

The teacher cannot make over buildings, but there is much 
room for vigilant use of shades to secure the best light pos- 
sible at all times of the day and for moving pupils from badly 
lighted seats. It is little less than criminal to permit children 
to study with the sun shining upon the page or while they are 
facing direct Hght. Young teachers sometimes have an unde- 
fined feeling that pupils above the primary grades should 
know enough to protect themselves against such grossly bad 
conditions, but this they may not be depended upon to do. 
It is difficult for most supervising officers to discover much 
professional ability in teachers who do not develop in the use 
of simple precautionary measures required for conservation 
of pupils' eyesight. 

Seats and desks. The best school seats and desks are 
single and adjustable. For the double there is but one sig- 
nificant argument, — material economy, — while there are 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 67 

numerous disadvantages ; many pupils fiund it hard to do in- 
dependent work ; an orderly child is often seated with one 
who keeps an untidy desk ; in the modified lottery of getting 
located, clean pupils do not always draw clean seatmates ; 
neighborhood feuds and racial enmities cause trouble from 
those who do not ^^dsh to be neighbors, and contagious diseases 
have increased Hkelihood of being spread. Adjustable fur- 
niture of good construction makes it possible for every pupil 
to be comfortably seated, the height of both seat and desk 
being changed several times a year if necessary to keep up wdth 
rapidly growing children. In the absence of adjustable furni- 
ture much can be done by shifting pupils so that they occupy 
the most suitable seats available. As an outline for the 
diagnosis of seating defects the following is offered : 

1 . Seat too high. Pupil's feet, not touching the floor, dangle, 
swing to and fro, or seek support upon next desk ; or pupil 
" slides down." 

2. Seat too low. Pupil " doubles up like a jackknife " — 
leans forward. 

3. Desk too high. Writing arm and shoulder higher than 
the other, liable to induce spinal curvature. 

4. Desk too low. Pupil leans forward upon elbows — stoops. 

5. Desk too Jar from seat (called " plus " distance). Pupil 
sits on edge of seat or leans over against desk. 

6. Desk too close (too much '' minus " distance). Cramped 
and uncomfortable — difficulty in getting into or out of seat. 

By no means all the awkward, sprawling, unhygienic pos- 
tures of school children are caused by unsuitable furniture, 
but in so far as they are, they should be used as an index of 
the remedy. In addition to the danger of physical deformity, 



68 The Work of the Teacher 

no child does his best work when his seat or desk impels him 
daily to assume bad posture. If adjustable seats ^re used, it 
is the teacher's business to see that at all times they meet the 
needs of their occupants ; if non-adjustable furniture is still 
in use, the best possible apportionment according to sizes must 
be made. If no other means avails to get every pupil's feet 
comfortably flat on the floor when the knee is bent at a right 
angle, a foot-rest should be provided. 

The recent evolution of school furniture has resulted in 
many forms of desks and chairs. With the exception of a 
brief period when vertical writing was in vogue most of them 
have provided a top that is level or nearly so ; a few include the 
feature of an adjustable top, designed to accommodate itself 
to different types of work. Such " improvements " are a de- 
cided gain unless they introduce other elements of weakness. 
Thousands of desks which have gone into use during the past 
ten years render thoroughly good penmanship impossible 
because of their unsteadiness : no one can write without a 
steady support, even on a desk which has sacrificed its solidity 
to more modern notions. Other things being equal, the desk 
which is least liable to rattle or lead to dropping of books is 
to be preferred, for the best of pupils will encourage furniture 
to be noisy. Certain otherwise excellent desks have proved 
unsatisfactory because they required keys, locks, or bolts of 
such a nature that it was possible to lose them, and of course 
they were lost. 

In addition to being single, adjustable, steady, and conven- 
ient, it is claimed with many good reasons that desks and 
seats should be movable. The conventional arrangement of 
straight rows ma}^ then be used at will or it may give way to 
a " circle " or any other form for which diversity of school 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 69 

exercises calls, even making the formation of several " con- 
versation " or " work " groups a comparatively easy matter ; 
if special programs, school parties, or community social events 
require much clear floor space, all furniture may be crowded 
to one side of the room or disposed of in cloakroom or cor- 
ridor. Care should be exercised in adopting movable furni- 
ture that the requisite steadiness is not sacrificed. Related 
to what was said concerning the shape of the schoolroom it 
should be evident that the conventional arrangement by which 
the rows of seats run lengthwise of the room is the proper one 
if furniture is to be fastened to the floor. 

Ventilation of the schoolroom. Proper ventilation is an 
essential of good school work. Impurities from clothing, or- 
ganic matter from the breath, crayon dust, occasionally gas 
from stoves, in addition to changes in the air due to rebreath- 
ing, make frequent change of schoolroom air necessary. Both 
pupils and teacher are Hkely to be unconscious of the vitiated 
atmosphere, but a person entering the room detects very readily 
the need of change ; the teacher who occasionally steps from 
an unsystematically ventilated classroom, in order to reenter 
a minute or two later, may thus wisely apply a crude test to 
schoolroom air. It is difficult to give any practicable measure 
of the amount of fresh air required ; recent studies indicate 
that dead or motionless air is more injurious than the same 
air when fanned or kept in movement. Pupils vitiate from 
two thousand to three thousand cubic feet of air apiece per 
hour, though of course no child actually breathes this quan- 
tity. Measured in another way, a schoolroom of average 
size, adapted to the needs of thirty pupils, should have prac- 
tically complete change of air every ten minutes. Such 
measurements give the teacher only a very general concep- 



70 The Work of the Teacher 

tion of the amount of air change desirable ; it would seem, 
however, that if any error is made regarding measurement of 
ventilation, it should be upon the side of an excess of fresh air. 

In buildings ventilated by a fan system the teacher must be 
constantly alert to know that all is working as it is supposed 
to ; if the atmosphere of a schoolroom is stagnant, polluted, or 
impure, the effect is the same whether the system is scientific, 
the result of architectural afterthought, or lacking entirely. 
Hiding behind " Our building has a good ventilating system " 
is often like the practice of the community which aboUshes 
an evil by law, remaining hence complacently blind to its 
continued presence. 

In rooms dependent upon windows for ventilation it is the 
teacher's business to see that change of air is effective without 
direct drafts upon seated pupils. By noting the direction of 
the wind, remembering that warm air escapes rapidly through 
openings at the top of windows, that several windows slightly 
opened are better than one more widely open, and keeping 
the thermometer in view, a safe supply of fresh air may be 
constantly present. Not infrequently teachers could make 
better use of intermissions and rest periods to change school- 
room air, but a simple calculation of the amount vitiated by 
each pupil will sujB&ce to show the inadequacy of such means 
alone used at hourly intervals. In this connection it should 
be remembered that a well-ventilated cold room in winter is 
more dangerous than one at the proper temperature even 
though the air may need moving. As country and village 
schoolrooms are often very slow in becoming warm enough on 
cold winter mornings, it is not wise to insist very rigidly upon 
ventilation until the air of the entire room has been thoroughly 
warmed. 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 71 

Combined heating and ventilating systems operate effec- 
tively in weather cold enough to require strong fires ; in warm 
weather with low fires their effect upon ventilation is very 
slight. Both in installing such systems and in their operation 
it is important to remember the principle upon which they 
work — " heated air expands and rises, cooled air contracts 
and sinks." 

Maintaining proper temperature. Maintaining the proper 
temperature in a schoolroom is inseparably connected with 
health, discipline, and instruction. In large buildings the 
teacher's direct responsibility usually ends with his being 
alert to see that the thermometer registers the proper tem- 
perature — sixty-eight to seventy degrees in most parts of this 
country. In the one-room school or in any room heated by 
a stove, more vigilance is needed and in thousands of cases 
direct control of the stove falls upon the teacher ; it then be- 
comes part of the teacher's business to see that pupils do not 
suffer with heat or with cold. If the room is unevenly heated, 
pupils should be shifted to make the best of a bad condition. 
Merely allowing them to move nearer the source of heat or 
away from a scorching stove is not always enough ; it is very 
often the teacher's obligation to remind bashful little children 
that they are not comfortable. In meeting this responsi- 
bility it is well to note that pupils who are warmly clad, well- 
nourished children, and those who carry a good supply of 
adipose tissue are least liable to suffer from the cold. Because 
of the last reason given girls are often less sensitive to cold 
than boys. 

Humidifying schoolroom air. If warmed schoolroom air is 
too dry, as it is sure to be unless provision is made^ for humid- 
ifying it, the teacher can materially improve its condition by 



72 The Work of the Teacher 

keeping an uncovered vessel of water in the room — upon the 
stove or near the source of heat. The neglect of this pre- 
caution doubtless is the cause of many colds and ultimately 
of serious nose and throat trouble. Conservation of fuel, so 
essential during recent winters, is also greatly facilitated by 
maintaining the proper degree of humidity. 

B. Teaching Equipment 

Teachers are frequently responsible for judicious purchase 
of teaching apparatus and always for its liberal and effective 
use. Both of these phases are considered in what follows, 
though some of the more specific teaching uses are deferred to 
a later chapter. No attempt is made to include a complete 
category of apparatus in the discussion ; those considered are 
the more important, generally used, or typical, and much of 
what is said applies to minor or special teaching appliances. 

The blackboard. The blackboard, the best material for 
which is slate or glass, should be liberal in extent. In rooms 
used by smaller children its lower margin should not be more 
than twenty-six inches above the floor, increasing to thirty- 
six in the upper grades. A board approximately four feet wide 
satisfies usual requirements : in some rooms an additional 
panel, twelve to sixteen inches wide, proves useful for some- 
what permanent decorations or material which is to be 
used often. This " upper blackboard " not only lessens de- 
mand for space upon the blackboard proper, but if protected 
by a narrow molding from an occasional high sweep of the 
eraser, may be used to emphasize neat artistic ideals in letter- 
ing and design. Blackboards should not be placed upon a 
narrow strip of wall between two windows ; if so located the 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 73 

business of the teacher is to see that they do not become the 
cause of eyestrain. 

Crayon dust is an evil associated with extensive use of the 
blackboard. To remedy this : 

(a) So-called " dustless crayon " may be used, it being 
understood that no crayon which makes a mark is really 
dustless. 

{h) Erasers should be dusted every day by the janitor. 

(c) The trough at the base of the board should be cleaned 
daily ; the principal cause of flying dust is the fact that erasers 
when not in use are laid flat in this dusty ledge. An excel- 
lent device seldom used is to have in at least part of the 
trough a wire netting frame which constitutes an " upper 
bottom." Erasers being placed upon this lose a portion of 
their load of dust instead of accumulating more. 

{d) The board should be washed frequently; the little 
blackboards in many European schools, used principally by 
teachers, are kept free from dust by a damp sponge which 
serves as an eraser. 

{e) Pupils may be taught to erase carefully, especially not 
to swing dust-laden erasers away from the board or by sud- 
den jarring to unload dust in the room. 

The value of individual blackboard work by pupils is too 
great to give up because of the dust evil which may be 
greatly lessened by some or all of the means suggested. The 
teacher who fears to have the blackboard used because of the 
dust is as wasteful of opportunity as the one who refuses to 
use it because his power of blackboard illiistration is slight. 

The teacher who can draw skillfully has a great advantage 
over one who must depend exclusively upon the voice, but all 
can make the blackboard their ally through lines, diagrams, 



74 The Work of the Teacher 

figures, emphasized syllables, or words, and improvement 
comes with practice. The increased attention of pupils to 
even the crudest graphic attempts by an instructor is an in- 
centive to better work. How many teachers have soliloquized : 
" How expectantly these pupils are watching me ! And 
now I am about to disappoint them by not being able to make 
the crayon tell them anything." 

Maps, for which a skilled teacher can often make the black- 
board a partial substitute, are indispensable aids in several 
subjects. Though school boards do not always supply these 
liberally, teachers frequently fail to make full use of what is 
provided. Being themselves thoroughly familiar with place 
relations involved, they forget that perhaps two thirds of the 
class need the help of a map. A county superintendent, after 
watching the teaching of a history class for some time, took 
charge. Wishing to use the excellent map, safely rolled in its 
case, he endeavored to place it before the interested group. 
A cloud of dust shattered from the case upon his coat. While 
he brushed, the teacher explained that the key to the case 
was at his boarding place ; no use of maps had seemed neces- 
sary in half a year of school. A high school teacher excused 
herself to an inspector for failure to use a map on the ground 
that she was temporarily using another teacher's room, though 
an easily made blackboard sketch was the only map needed. 
An eighth grade teacher with keen eye for infractions of dis- 
cipline saw a boy endeavoring to consult a page map in his 
history: " Shut your book, you must not look at a map dur- 
ing the lesson," she shouted. Now this teacher was doubly 
wrong ; a good time to use a map is during recitation, and she 
should have used the high-priced map or history chart, both 
of which were available but unused. Such teachers as these 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 75 

have something to do with the unwilHngness of school author- 
ities to spend money for maps. Why invest in useless or 
unused apparatus? 

Much is learned by pupils casually from a map which hangs 
constantly before them. Such maps have the merit of being 
always ready for use, but they are often impracticable because 
of lack of wall space and because they prove an unsightly 
element in a schoolroom's furnishings. The most convenient 
and serviceable maps for the majority of schools are the 
series rolled in a movable case. A superior teaching device is 
the outline map in yellow or white upon a dark background, 
the blackboard outline map, which makes it possible to pre- 
sent only such phases as are being studied. In addition to the 
bewildering confusion of details upon most wall maps, it is 
often difficult to give pupils the idea of history which might 
be gained by study of a contemporary map. The outline 
map makes it an easy matter to isolate any one of a dozen 
geographical phases for special study, and by skillful use it 
may become a contemporary map. 

The dictionary. Use of the dictionary should be a lifelong 
habit ; this it is most likely to become if pupils are taught 
to use it economically and efifectively. Without instruction 
some learn, some become disgusted, and others form cum- 
bersome habits which waste the time it is the business of the 
teacher to save. Ideally every pupil should have his own 
dictionary ; where the school furnishes books, dictionaries 
should be part of the equipment. The following suggestions 
are offered as an aid to teaching the use of the dictionary. 

1. Pupils must know the alphabet well enough to use it readily. 

2. Give practice in arranging lists of names or articles alpha- 
betically. 



76 The Work of the Teacher 

3. Give similar practice in arranging lists of words in "dic- 
tionary" order, considering alphabetical sequence of letters after 
the first. 

4. With a dictionary, show that M is in the middle, D halfway 
between the beginning and M, and S halfway between M and the 
end. Practice finding other letters readily. 

5. Write several pairs of "catchwords" which appear at the top 
of a dictionary's pages ; have lists of words beginning with the same 
letter classified by pupils as falling before, between, or after the 
"catchwords." Suppose for example that Jelis and Jem are one 
of these pairs ; pronounce a series of words like Jell, Jeline, Jelt, 
Jelicity, and Jend, and have them listed as occurring before, upon, 
or after the page included by the catchwords. 

6. Give lists of five or ten words for rapid finding by means of 
"catchwords." In this practice exercise pupils merely record the 
number of the page when the word is found. 

7. In the upper grades show how much may be learned about a 
word in addition to its spelling, pronunciation, and definition. 

8. Since selection of the appropriate definition is often as diflBi- 
cult as finding the word, pupils should be given specific practice in 
selecting the needed definition. Such exercises should at least 
result in convincing the pupil of the necessity of careful selection. 

9. A few lessons of exploration in the introduction and appendix 
are worth while. Unsettled points often remain unanswered be- 
cause it does not occur to the pupil or teacher to make use of avail- 
able resources. 

If pupils do not have individual dictionaries, the principle 
of use should determine the expenditure of money. A half 
dozen dictionaries at two dollars each will result in more 
service day by day and will last longer than an equal or 
greater sum invested in a single volume. The ideal equip- 
ment for elementary and grammar grade rooms would per- 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 77 

haps include individual dictionaries and a complete or un- 
abridged edition as a court of last appeal. 

Encyclopedias. Encyclopedias are a legitimate part of the 
school equipment, but they should hardly be acquired by 
spending all available money, or before the school is well 
supplied with other library material. When purchasing is 
done, it should be by school officers if pupils are to use them ; 
many teachers are furnishing schools with expensive sets of 
such books which should have been paid for by those whose 
children are wearing them out. Before selecting an encyclo- 
pedia it should be ascertained that it is accurate, reasonably 
recent both in copyright and actual content, and expressed in 
language which may be comprehended by those for whom it is 
designed. Some of the works offered for sale by agents at 
summer schools and teachers' institutes fail in most of these 
respects, notwithstanding too thoughtlessly given testimonials 
by " influential schoolmen." 

School library. It is reasonable to expect teachers to know 
books well enough to select the school or schoolroom library 
with intelligence. Observation shows that certain tend- 
encies seem to interfere with the teacher's best judgment in 
the selection of books. The first of these is to choose in the 
direction of his own major interests. One with strong his- 
torical or scientific bent must guard against overemphasis of 
what seems most important ; the teacher's interest may be 
unusual and is sure not to be shared in a great degree by many 
pupils. A second error of judgment is to select books in sets. 
These look well on shelves, and the fact that a volume is part 
of a set does not condemn it, but many sets are not of uniform 
excellence, and bujang a large set is likely to oversupply a 
single type of material, at the same time exhausting avail- 



78 The Work of the Teacher 

able funds before all interests receive attention. Not a few 
town and village school libraries have suffered from this 
" set disease." A third error, shown most conspicuously 
in ungraded schools, is failure to meet the intellectual 
level of younger pupils. Little children are most numerous 
and least able to read general material found at home. 
Older pupils usually read with profit and pleasure what is 
adapted to needs of earlier grades, while material selected 
for the upper grades seldom has accessible value for primary 
classes. 

It has been assumed that teachers or professional school 
officers are to select books. A great deal of money has been 
wasted by well-meaning laymen in purchasing excellent books 
which school children cannot appreciate. It is the business 
of the teacher not only to know the literary needs of pupils 
but also to inspire and direct them in the use of the library. 
Homes without books and multitudes of adults who never visit 
the community library are the grown-up consequences of 
school children who never learned to use other than text- 
books in school. 

The teacher as guide in purchasing teaching equipment. 
It has been stated that teachers are often depended upon to 
guide in the purchase of equipment. In the exercise of this 
trust it is necessary to seek competent advice. It is not to be 
expected that the teacher will know offhand the price of books 
or apparatus, but he should possess or be able to secure infor- 
mation that will avoid mistakes and waste of money. Cata- 
logs and price lists of standard publishers and school supply 
houses are always to be obtained from addresses found in the 
advertising columns of school journals; many states issue 
official lists of great value ; and it is one of the functions of 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 79 

the county superintendent to advise rural teachers upon such 
matters. 

The ideal of " get the best " occasionally leads to waste, 
though the best is never too good. What is best for the 
scholar or the school enrolling hundreds of pupils may not be 
appropriate for the children of the elementary school, or 
may be impractically expensive. The one-room rural school 
which spent for a globe eighty-five dollars of its money raised 
by an entertainment, equipped itself with a piece of ap- 
paratus which none of its teachers could understand and 
which, aside from its magnificence, was no more impressive to 
pupils than one costing a fortieth as much would have been. 
The rural school board which paid an agent forty-four dollars 
for a reading chart in color probably furnished him a hand- 
some profit. 

The opposite extreme of paying as little as possible for books 
is often met. Nothing is gained, however, in purchasing cheap 
and out-of-date reprints of standard works or furnishing a 
school with any kind of equipment merely because the price 
is low. Poorly bound or paper-covered books sometimes find 
their way into libraries because of a few cents' difference in 
price ; since no one can be careful of an unbound book, the 
wisdom of such economy may be questioned, and the general 
influence of a shelf full of dilapidated or dog-eared volumes 
is not wholesome. 

Schoolroom decoration. Though not usually considered 
part of the teaching equipment, schoolroom decoration exerts 
such important influences upon the characters the school is 
forming that it is incumbent upon every teacher to know and 
appreciate the marks of approved esthetic taste. The in- 
fluence of a correct and harmonious environment no one is 



8o The Work of the Teacher 

likely to deny theoretically, though practically it sometimes 
seems to command little notice. It has not been proved that 
children learn more arithmetic or history because they study 
in a beautiful schoolroom, but it is probable that children 
who study in well-decorated rooms do learn more, owing to 
the fact that a community which cares how its schoolrooms 
look will probably send better children to school than the 
community which is indifferent. But apart from learning, 
which is only one activity of the school, pupils grow by what 
they appreciate ; it is a hard saying that " We become a part 
of all we experience," even harder if it runs " All we experience 
becomes part of us," but the thoughtful teacher will not 
quarrel with the implications of either statement. Good 
taste is not developed by inartistic environment. 

Artistic taste in schoolroom decoration means appropriate- 
ness. It is as unreasonable to turn a school into an art 
gallery as to leave its walls bare ; " too little rather than too 
much " is a safe rule to follow. There is no place for the 
tawdry, coarse, flimsy, or gaudy; when voluntary contribu- 
tions to the decorative scheme are depended upon it requires 
tact to manage donations from homes in which low artistic 
standards prevail ; without giving offense, an unsuitable 
piece should not be allowed to mar entire effects, and occasion 
must be used to improve taste. In the selection of pictures, 
which form so large an element in mural decoration, age and 
interests of pupils are to be considered. In a room enroll- 
ing all ages care should be exercised to secure a generous share 
of pictures adapted to the needs of younger pupils ; those who 
are more mature will find value in these, but, like " grown-up 
books," adult subjects in pictures make small appeal to little 
children. The smallest details of framing, hanging, and 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 8i 

arrangement are not insignificant ; the best and most expen- 
sive pictures lose effectiveness if placed in austerely straight 
rows, given unsuitable setting, hung in wrong relation to each 
other or in a poor light. 

C. Daily Schedule and Its Administration 

The daily program or schedule of class exercises must be 
worked out with the teaching situation fully in mind. This 
is a relatively simple matter in the graded school where the 
two-class plan has been generally followed. It is slightly more 
complicated if departmentalized teaching is adopted, but the 
most serious problem is encountered in the one-room rural 
school enrolling all grades. No attempt to formulate specific 
schedules is made, but certain important considerations usu- 
ally involved are noted. The length of the school day, school 
term, intermissions, and subjects to be taught are usually 
fixed by law or by custom, from which it is not wise to depart 
without good reason. 

It seems probable that the school day could very profitably 
begin earlier and last longer than is now the custom in many 
of our schools, and there are excellent arguments for length- 
ening the term considerably ; these are questions in which 
the teacher has an interest, to be sure, but only indirect par- 
ticipation in settling. Every teacher, however, in administer- 
ing a program within such limitations as are imposed, has 
freedom of attitude which is easily extended to actual per- 
formance. It is with these adjustable or modifiable contacts 
of the teacher with the program that this discussion is con- 
cerned. 

Follow the program unless modified according to a plan. 
In general the teacher should hold strictly to the schedule. 



82 The Work of the Teacher 

Falling behind is a dangerous policy ; getting ahead is almost 
unheard of except among beginners who have not learned to 
organize subject matter so that they may have something to 
teach. Both of these errors mean the slighting of some sub- 
ject — unfortunately likely to be the one for which the teacher 
cares least — and so exposes to continued neglect. There is 
but one safe rule — " stick to the program." Until one be- 
comes familiar with units of subject matter to be taught this 
will sometimes seem to result in teaching out a given amount 
of time rather than presenting a unit or phase of a subject, but 
as skill develops, the conflict is less marked ; no teacher ever 
reaches the point where he can invariably make a lesson plan 
exactly suit a limited class period, but there need be little loss 
in bringing a lesson to a close when its allotted time has passed. 

What has been said applies to unpremeditated departures 
from schedule; it is quite commendable to vary the order of 
exercises or length of class period when there is good reason for 
so doing. As an illustration : a teacher, knowing that the work 
of the " A " class for the next day involves presentation of a new 
topic requiring, for economical and effective instruction, a 
long class period, might deliberately modify the " B " class as- 
signment so as to require less time spent in class exercise. 

The nature and importance of subjects. The nature and 
importance of subjects should have a share in determining 
their place on the program. In the lower grades reading oc- 
cupies by far the most prominent place. If an entire class 
seems low in attainment in a given subject, that branch may 
properly receive added recognition on the daily schedule 
until the deficiency is removed. Subjects which are adapted 
to certain seasons occasionally require added time for a series 
of lessons ; thus the growth of young plants is more practically 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 83 

studied in spring than in autumn. Subjects which provide 
occasion for field trips or excursions require program adjust- 
ments, and a live teacher is never so set in routine that he 
cannot modify the schedule to make use of an unexpected 
opportunity to give vivid application to some useful lesson. 
Too many formal or drill subjects should not be placed in 
direct sequence ; in fact these may wisely be interspersed at 
intervals during the entire day. Classes which require col- 
lecting of material or extended blackboard preparation should 
preferably be placed next to an intermission or recess. 

The size and character of a class. The size and character 
of a class are important considerations in its time allotment 
and placing upon the daily schedule. The presence in a class 
of a group of over-age boys attending their last school term 
might constitute a reason for modifying the program to pro- 
vide for some local life need of these pupils. It might hap- 
pen, for example, that these boys had suddenly realized that 
they were unable to write a conventional and businesslike 
letter ; who would object to recognizing their need by giving 
them additional time ? If a teacher wishes to avoid waste of 
time due to infraction of discipline, he will probably see to it 
that the program provides unescapable work for the large, 
idle, mischievous, or noisy class during the periods preceding 
dismissal rather than for the small, docile, quiet, or indus- 
trious group. And while a class of twenty does not require 
twice as much time for recitation as one of ten, it usually does 
require, and is entitled to, more time than the smaller group. 

The question of fatigue. The question of fatigue is in- 
volved in constructing a daily schedule, but, though many 
studies have been made, conclusions are not unanimous. 
There is in popular thought and among teachers much con- 



84 The Work of the Teacher 

fusion between fatigue and lack of interest. As stated by 
Thorndike, the pupil who seems to be affected by fatigue is 
less willing rather than less able, and one is wearied by what 
does not happen quite as much as by what does. A pupil 
who is apathetic toward a subject would not really find it 
fatiguing if he followed his inclination and put forth no effort 
or dozed in class ; on the other hand, if he were conscientious 
or possessed of the notion that he must learn what was given 
him, and forced himself to attend to the subject, it would 
probably be more fatiguing than another to which he gave 
spontaneous and unforced attention. 

Aside from the attitude and individual ability of the pupil, 
there is in class instruction the manner and interest of the 
teacher. An educational measurement of great value would 
be the fatiguing power of each teacher. It may thus be seen 
that fatigue can hardly be considered inherent in any subject, 
but may rather be thought of as an accompaniment of en- 
tire teaching situations, of which there are many factors : poor 
health, bad air, or overtense teaching showing themselves as 
immediate causes and poor heredity or an ill-adapted cur- 
riculum as more remote. There is doubtless a well-defined 
" work curve " for most pupils, reaching its highest point 
about the middle of the first quarter of the usual daily session, 
and its lowest late in the afternoon. Each intermission has 
a reviving effect upon pupils, except the few who play too 
strenuously. The fact that many pupils eat a hearty midday 
meal has more effect upon the work of the session which follows 
than the element of fatigue itself. Assuming that the school 
day is divided into four approximately equal sessions, it is 
fairly safe to assert that the best period for work is the first, 
followed in order by the second or third, with the fourth 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 85 

unquestionably last. Subjects regarded as of greatest im- 
portance should be given the preferred place. 

The length of a class period bears a direct relation to fatigue, 
since well-conducted class work requires considerable expen- 
diture of energy from pupils. Some of the symptoms of too 
prolonged effort are wavering attention, inaccuracy, decreased 
memory ability, yawning, restlessness, and irritability, though 
it is true that an overheated or stuffy room and other external 
conditions bring about the same results. Approved experi- 
ence indicates the following as approximately the proper time 
to continue class exercises for children of various ages : 

Age five to seven . . . 15 minutes 

Age seven to ten .... 20 minutes 

Age ten to twelve . . . 25 minutes 

Age twelve to fifteen ... 30 minutes 

Shorter periods represent waste because of too many changes ; 
longer periods mean loss due to fatigue. Last, but very im- 
portant, the teacher should strive to decrease occasion for 
fatigue by reducing unnecessary stress and friction, by keep- 
ing the schoolroom physically and temperamentally comfort- 
able, and by encouraging children during intermissions to for- 
get school work in whole-hearted play. Only with the occa- 
sional pupil is the last a difficult matter. 

The expedient of alternation. The expedient of alternation 
makes it possible to teach the large number of subjects now in 
the elementary curriculum. It is not necessary for all classes 
to recite every day, as prevailing European practice amply 
demonstrates. It is manifestly better for an eighth grade 
class to work thirty minutes on alternate days than to be in 



86 The Work of the Teacher 

session fifteen minutes daily. Of course fundamental subjects 
of the lower grades cannot so well be alternated. 

Saving time by combining classes. Further economy of 
time may result from combining classes in certain subjects. 
A form of this is the system of alternation practiced in many 
rural schools by which the work of the four upper elementary 
grades may be done with a two-class organization. The 
upper or " A " class section does seventh grade work one 
year, eighth the next, and seventh the year following, always 
containing some pupils who are doing a second year and 
others a first year of work in the class. Similarly the fifth 
and sixth grades are alternated. Below the fifth grade the 
plan operates much less successfully. Another practical 
economy is to unite writing and drawing classes of several 
grades or a room ; the same plan operates well with music 
and physical training. Judicious management makes it 
possible to combine two spelling classes during one short 
period for written work, the teacher pronouncing words al- 
ternately to each group. 

Provision for helping individual pupils. An important 
consideration in making a daily schedule is the provision 
made for securing a degree of attention to individual pupils' 
needs. The oft lamented disadvantages of the graded sys- 
tem may be obviated, at least in part, by making allowance 
for one or more study periods during which the teacher is 
free to bestow help wherever needed. This is the essential 
feature of the Batavia system, in which the classroom teacher 
is assisted by another instructor who devotes full time to 
giving individual help. It is well to remember that there is 
little economy in giving to a slow pupil or one who has fallen 
behind because of absence an undue share of the time of 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 87 

a regular class for explanation of points which are thor- 
oughly comprehended by all the rest of the group ; it is equally 
wasteful and unjust to drag a potentially competent pupil 
over lessons which are so far from being understood as to re- 
main mystifying stumbling-blocks in the way of future prog- 
ress when a little well-directed individual instruction would 
clear the situation. 

In rural schools the skillful teacher is the one who always 
finds time to give individual help between class recitations, 
and though it may be impracticable to provide regular in- 
dividual help study periods, the use of alternation should 
make it possible to provide these when necessary. A teacher 
who lifts his vision far enough above daily routine to take 
account of ultimate economy will often effectually silence the 
very natural " I have not time " which springs to his lips 
when a new plan is suggested. 

Opening or general exercises. The last consideration is 
that of opening or general exercises, which by virtue of their 
nature are best conducted for the entire classroom. No pro- 
gram is complete which does not make provision for this form 
of activity ; no classroom teacher has risen fully to his re- 
sponsibilities until he has solved the sometimes vexed prob- 
lem of what the school should do, have, or enjoy at this period. 
Two principal reasons may be given for the comparatively 
frequent absence or unsatisfactory quality of this part of the 
day's work ; the teacher either can think of nothing to do, 
or he feels that there is not time. Clearly the two excuses 
are related — there is always time for what is worth while. 
The teacher who starts with a few devices remembered from 
his own school days, picks up a few more from school journals 
or other teachers, and then allows the exercises to lapse be- 



88 The Work oj the Teacher 

cause he has run out of plans is probably right in saying 
" There is not time." But if such exercises are made to real- 
ize their fullest possibilities, they are of so much value that a 
competent judge of the daily work would no more think of 
doing without this feature of the program than of abolishing 
the class in reading or geography. If these subjects are not 
well handled they also take too much time and could with 
little loss be omitted. 

What are the values to be realized in opening exercises? 
First, from the immediately practical viewpoint, they arc an 
incentive for punctuaHty if they are " too good to miss " ; 
they afford occasion for making general announcements of 
moment to all, and give opportunity for children out of 
breath with vigorous playing to cool off or " settle down." 

Second, subjects which have not been able to find a place 
upon the program, though far too important to be ignored, 
may at this period receive considerable emphasis. In this 
category may usually be listed moral and religious instruction, 
and lessons in etiquette. 

Third, it is possible to bring before the entire school current 
civic and social questions at the psychological moment. This 
is often a more effective plan than to do violence to regularly 
outlined subjects in order to utilize a passing interest of un- 
doubted but unrelated value. Much of what pupils learn is 
" picked up " in this incidental fashion ; it is the method of 
the market place and the casual meeting of those having 
common interests — a method which the teacher who makes 
organization a fetish is likely to undervalue. 

Fourth, the inspiration of a good start is not to be lightly 
esteemed. If the opening exercises leave the pupil with an 
undefined but delightful feeling that he has been in the presence 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 89 

of something great, or a tingling sense of the reality of some 
mighty interest or power, the lifting force which took him for 
a few minutes out of his little workday world is not spent in 
a moment. Such values must forever remain intangible and 
unmeasured but no teacher who knows boys and girls can 
doubt their effectiveness in developing ideals. 

If the foregoing values are to grow from opening exercises 
they must possess the two important qualities of being good 
and interesting. The first of these requirements would ex- 
clude all that is not high class ; it is fooHsh to sing a cheap 
song or read a poor story while the world is full of great songs 
and wonderful stories waiting to be discovered and used. 
It is right to entertain and amuse children but the most 
entertaining and the funniest may be of the best. The 
second requisite, being interesting, sometimes excludes ma- 
terial good enough in its place but inappropriate for this 
purpose. The teacher who says, " The visitor to my school 
made a good talk but the children did not listen well," is 
politely stating a half truth ; if the children did not listen the 
talk was not a good one — for that room, however fine it 
might have been elsewhere. The test of the talk is its effect 
where it is rather than where it is not delivered. To be in- 
teresting an exercise must be adapted to the age, capacities, 
or needs of the room ; it should be executed in an appropriate 
way with no hitches, breakdowns, or unplanned delays, and 
there is an increased probability of success if an element of 
uncertainty or newness is present. The last-named quality 
suggests the imperative need of great variety. Now it should 
be evident that exercises which are to meet the requirements 
set forth must be carefully planned and studied, perhaps even 
more cautiously than other phases of school work. And of 



go The Work oj the Teacher 

every proposed exercise the questions must be asked, " Is 
this good — the best that I can find ? Will the pupils care 
for it?" 

The beginning teacher finds it diflEicult to secure variety in 
opening exercises. Failing to discover new forms, those which 
are known are overworked with inevitable loss of interest. 
One young teacher adopted the plan of listing in a notebook 
such activities as seemed adapted to the purposes of opening 
exercises. The list was better for her than the ones she 
could find in manuals or teachers' periodicals, though she 
borrowed from both, because each item had personal and 
specific meanings. She found after a year or two of experience 
that her list was more than sufiicient to meet ordinary needs 
for the entire year, and that she always had convenient access 
to the results of her own and others' experience upon which 
to draw for variety. As the plan may prove helpful to others 
a model page of her book is quoted. Since this teacher's work 
included pupils of all ages, her list is not adapted exclusively 
to the capacities of any particular grade or class. 

1. Singing. Have individual pupils or "committees" select 
the song program for certain days or a week — sing old songs much 
of the time — unless books are abundant, have songs copied on the 
board or in a notebook — memorize one or two national songs — 
use best singers occasionally upon solo parts. 

2. Memory gems — not too often. 

3. Riddles, conundrums, question box — not hard to overwork. 

4. Interesting or peculiar number arrangement like magic 
squares. 

5. Good stories (Names of books and stories found satisfactory). 

6. Devotional exercises — unless some one in the community 
seriously objects. 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 91 

7. Talks — occasionally invite some one in the community or a 
visitor to talk a few minutes. Don't unless you are sure he will say 
something and leave off when he is done. Many adults carmot 
talk to children ; if a visitor duly invited continues too long, it is 
an awkward matter to get him stopped ; yet it is not much wiser 
to overstep the allotted time for opening exercises than for any 
other part of the daily program. 

8. Current events. To secure responsibility limit the field by 
dividing the room into groups; e.g., Group A, look after Eu- 
ropean news; Group B, news of the United States, outside of 
our own state; Group C, our own state, including the legislature. 

Similarly groups may be made responsible for scientific, literary, 
biographical, and political news. Spend a few periods telling how 
to use papers and magazines — how to find what is most worth 
while. 

9. An observation tray. Having ten miscellaneous objects on 
the tray, let pupils look at it half a minute. Then let each give 
the names of all he saw or remembers. Some will name things not 
on the tray. Why? 

And so on through many pages this teacher was capitalizing 
her experiences. 

D. Teacher's Responsibility for Hygienic and 
Sanitary Measures 

To some extent consideration of hygienic and sanitary 
measures is inseparable from the discussion of housing and 
equipment ; certain phases of these subjects have been 
touched upon in an earlier section of this' chapter. But even 
an ideally situated school, properly housed and superbly 
equipped, leaves much of the care of pupils to the vigilance 
of teachers, and few school plants are ideal. It is not the 



92 The Work of the Teacher 

function of the teacher to prescribe as does the physician or 
ocuHst, but he is responsible for preserving hygienic condi- 
tions, preventing immediate injury to children's health while 
in school, and for building habits and ideals which will result 
in permanent physical and mental economy ; and by virtue 
of the relationship in which the teacher stands it becomes 
his duty to notify fathers and mothers of defects or suspected 
ailments of their children and to suggest possible sources of 
remedy or the proper kind of professional service to seek. 

Eyesight. The modern school submits the pupil's eyesight 
to vigorous use, and except when conditions are ideal, to 
numerous dangers. In order to stand the strain in school 
and form habits which will conserve eyesight after school 
days are over, pupils should be trained to avoid unnecessary 
use of hard lead-pencils or those which leave a dim or glazed 
mark ; not to write with unduly diluted ink ; to avoid writing 
upon paper which reflects light too directly, or because of its 
coarseness makes writing in clean outline impossible; not to 
read by a dim light, with light shining directly upon the page, 
nor to read or write while in such position that a line con- 
necting the eyes would not be parallel to the lines upon the 
page. Such training must be effectively done if it is to be 
carried over into home study in which conditions generally 
are Hkely to be worse than at school. Only the teacher's 
direct relation to use of unsuitable materials has been men- 
tioned ; of course the teacher's influence should be vigilantly 
and positively exercised against the adoption of badly printed 
textbooks or those printed upon highly glazed paper, and 
against purchase of any supplies not the best for eyesight. 
For the pupil with an abnormality of vision the teacher is 
peculiarly responsible. The nearsighted child needs to be 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 93 

seated with reference to his defect. While the teacher may 
not be expected to give an expert examination or fit glasses, 
it is distinctly his duty to discover defects by such simple tests 
as that of the Snellen card and to suggest to the parent that 
the services of an oculist seem to be necessary. 

Hearing. The pupil who has defective hearing must first 
of all be discovered, if possible before the defect becomes 
conspicuous enough to render its detection an easy matter. 
The presence of adenoids, earache, or running ears should be 
viewed with suspicion as symptoms which often accompany 
slight deafness. Two simple tests may be used by any teacher 
and these should be administered to every pupil whether or 
not deafness is suspected. 

The watch-tick test consists of ascertaining the distance at 
which the pupil can hear the tick of a watch. Since watches 
vary, no uniform distance for normal hearing can be given. 
The teacher may use his own hearing distance as a measure 
if it is known to be normal, or the median or average distance 
of half a dozen seemingly normal pupils. The ear which is 
not being tested should be closed, and care must be exercised 
that the pupil does not depend upon imagination. The 
imagination difficulty may be checked by use of a stop watch 
or by recording a few alleged hearing distances when no watch 
is used. Deaf pupils are often sensitive and endeavor by 
every means to appear normal. 

The " whisper test," in general less accurate, is also a 
check upon overuse of imagination. It consists of whispering 
directions to a pupil at a distance. If the normal or average 
pupil complies with directions at the distance of twenty feet, 
whereas another can barely understand at a distance of ten 
or five feet, there is good reason to suspect partial deafness. 



94 The Work of the Teacher 

In order to prevent lip-reading, care must be taken to hide the 
lips of the one who whispers. The inaccuracy of this test is 
due to the impossibility of regulating the loudness or clear- 
ness of the whispered direction or making sure that all di- 
rections used are equally easy to comprehend. " Sit down " 
is phonetically easier to understand and somewhat more 
probable as a command than '' Move left." The teacher's 
diagnosis of deafness extends no further than discovery of 
the defect, though the parent should be informed. The deaf 
pupil in school must be given a preferred seat and in other 
ways protected against loss or disadvantage due to failure to 
hear. 

Adenoid growths. The presence of adenoids is another con- 
dition which often interferes with the pupil's ability to do 
school work, renders him unusually susceptible to germ dis- 
eases, and sometimes results in permanently defective breath- 
ing, voice, or hearing. If the pupil habitually breathes through 
the mouth, adenoids are indicated ; if he snores, it may be ade- 
noids or a cold ; if his tone is peculiarly nasal in pronouncing 
such expressions as " nine, ninety-nine, nine-hundred-ninety- 
nine," adenoids may be the cause of the peculiar twang. In 
many cases the operation which has removed the adenoid 
growth has caused the foregoing symptoms to disappear and 
has resulted in a new attitude toward school work and life. 
The trouble often exists entirely unsuspected by parents, 
who should be notified by teachers in case the disease is in- 
dicated. 

Posture. The posture of a few pupils always needs close 
watching. The rapidly growing child whose mother is too 
busy to notice that her boy is becoming stooped must be kept 
straight. The pupil who " writes with her nose " needs to 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 95 

be shown that it is possible to write while sitting upright. 
As has been stated, many unhygienic positions are due to 
improper school furniture, but quite as many awkward, gawky, 
impolite, sprawling, or ungainly postures, both in sitting and 
standing, are due to other causes and occur in schools equipped 
according to most approved standards. The pupil's need of 
something to lean against while standing seems quite ex- 
traordinary, as does the necessity for shuffling as he walks, or 
keeping his feet in the aisle. All such lapses it is the teacher's 
business to combat, whether they be classed as breaches of 
etiquette or unhygienic postures likely to lead to permanent 
imperfection or deformity. 

Communicable diseases and sanitary precautions. The 
prevention of communicable diseases among pupils rests to a 
large extent with the teacher. Little expert knowledge of 
these is expected, but alertness to detect a few well-marked 
symptoms and eternal vigilance in preventing known means 
of contagion may reasonably be demanded of every one in 
charge of a schoolroom. Fever, a peculiar cough, and every 
kind of skin eruption should be the objects of intelligent solici- 
tude at all times as well as during an epidemic, and the law 
makes it possible, directly or indirectly, to segregate " sus- 
pects " by sending them home, a function which the teacher 
should not be too slow in exercising. Provision of pure drink- 
ing water, the use and care of individual drinking cups, and 
instruction and practice in care of the teeth are within the 
province of the teacher's responsibility. Disinfection or 
destruction of textbooks used by pupils having a contagious 
disease is often essential. This is a comparatively simple 
problem when books are provided by the school, but one which 
requires tact if they are owned by the pupil. The sanitation 



96 The Work of the Teacher 

of toilets and outhouses, even with thoroughly excellent 
equipment and janitor service, still requires attention. And 
sweeping, which is largely for the purpose of preserving sani- 
tary conditions, is often the immediate cause of contagion by 
its circulation of germs which might otherwise have remained 
quiescent. Floors should, if possible, be oiled so that dust 
may be economically collected by means of a damp cloth. No 
janitor ought to be allowed to raise a cloud of dust until all 
pupils have left the room or building, and there should be no 
sweeping for at least an hour preceding the opening of any 
school session. Dust particles settling upon furniture can be 
removed more safely by means of the damp cloth than by the 
antiquated process of " dusting." The sweeping compounds 
which are so generally employed in city schools are not widely 
used by rural teachers who must do their own sweeping or 
perform the sometimes more difficult task of securing service 
from an incapable janitor. It is often possible for such teach- 
ers to prepare a satisfactory sweeping mixture at nominal cost 
from sawdust dampened or mixed with oil. The rough floors 
of many old schoolhouses would not be injured by the use 
of snow, which is available during many months in parts of 
the country. Liberally used in a cool room it effectively pre- 
vents flying dust in sweeping. 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 97 

EXERCTSES 

1. Make a list of shade trees suitable for school grounds with 
the advantageous characteristics of each. Consider rate of growth, 
beauty, early and late leafing, immunity from insect pests, hardi- 
ness, and length of life. Describe in detail the proper way to set 
out a tree, 

2. A schoolroom is twenty-eight feet long and twenty- four feet 
wide. It is lighted by six windows. How large must the glass 
surface of each window be to insure adequate lighting ? Measure 
a schoohoom in which you work to determine whether sufficient 
light has been provided. 

3. Without notifying your pupils, count at intervals of twenty 
or thirty minutes during one day the number who are sitting in 
good position and compute the average. What per cent of the 
improper postures are due to unsuitable school furniture ? 

4. From the current numbers of several school journals clip out 
the illustrated advertisements of school seats and desks. What 
are the merits and defects of each t)^e when compared with those 
in your room or those with which you are most familiar ? 

5. How long would it require twenty pupils to vitiate the air of 
an unventilated schoohoom with dimensions of thirty by twenty 
by thirteen feet? 

6. If air space alone is considered, how many pupils should be 
seated in a schoolroom twenty-eight by twenty-four by thirteen 
feet?. Considering only floor space, how many should it accom- 
modate ? 

7. In a schoolroom ventilated by means of a system study the 
course of pure and foul air currents ; make a diagram showing the 
principal intakes and outlets. 

8. With a thermometer measure the temperature at the floor 
level of all parts of your schoolroom ; record similar measurement a 
foot above the desk level, and at the average height of standing 



98 The Work of the Teacher 

pupils. Make several such measurements during a cold day and 
record the results. Account for all significant variations. Which 
should be eliminated? What does "keeping the temperature of 
the schoolroom about 70° Fahrenheit" mean? 

9. What are the merits and defects of the following provisions of 
various state laws relating to the externals of the school? 

(a) "Whenever, from any cause, the temperature of a school- 
room falls to 60" Fahrenheit or below, without the immediate 
prospect of the proper temperature, namely, not less than 70° 
Fahrenheit, being attained, the teacher shall dismiss the school 
until the fault is corrected." (Indiana School Law.) 

{b) . . . "water buckets and tin drinking cups shall be unlawful 
and are forbidden." (Indiana School Law.) 

(c) "Seats, chairs, and desks placed in class, recitation, study, 
and high school rooms seating more than 15 persons shall be se- 
curely fastened to the floor. Desks and chairs used by the teachers 
may be portable." (School Law of Ohio, 191 1, Title 3, Section 10.) 

10. Disregarding completely the item of expense work out a 
suitable scheme of schoolroom decoration for one of the following : 
(a) primary room, {h) fifth-grade room, {c) eighth-grade room, 
{d) rural school enrolling all grades. 

11. Enumerate additional points in the economy or etiquette 
of the blackboard : 

(a) The teacher should use the front rather than any other 
blackboard in all explanation which concerns an entire class. 

{b) Every one, including the teacher, should erase his own work. 

(c) Unless blackboard space is very extensive it is too valuable 
to be taken up with such permanent material as the daily program. 

12. Describe the map equipment you would select for your room 
or school if 

(a) you could buy but two good maps, 

{b) you could buy five, 

(c) you were not limited in expenditure. 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements 99 

If a world map or a globe were to be purchased, which should be 
provided first? In what subjects are wall maps needed? 

13. In advising a school board concerning the purchase of library- 
books for a country school, what points would you emphasize? 
List ten books suitable for each grade in your school. How may 
the school library be made the connecting link between school and 
home? 

14. If you were 

(a) a superintendent or prominent teacher, would you place 
your written indorsement of a high-priced set of books in the hands 
of an agent who is selling them to immature and inexperienced 
teachers ? 

{h) a teacher, would you purchase a high-priced set of books from 
an agent knowing no more about him or his books than what he 
tells you and what is contained in the testimonials which he 
carries? 

Indicate the reasons for your answers to {a) and (6). 

15. Flash cards are almost indispensable in teaching primary 
reading and numbers. These may be purchased, made by the 
teacher, or by pupils according to the teacher's directions. What 
are the advantages of securing them in the last way ? 

16. Give examples of schoolroom apparatus, purchased by a 
teacher with poor judgment or by well-meaning lay interference, 
which is not adapted to any useful teaching purpose. 

17. What would be gained by having each pupil make a neat 
copy of the daily program, including his own study periods, and 
keep this individual program upon his desk? 

18. In many European schools at least fifteen minutes of each 
hour are given to intermissions which are gradually lengthened as 
the school day advances. Discuss the wisdom of such pauses from 
what your reading or experience tells you about fatigue. 

19. Is an interesting or an uninteresting subject more fatiguing 
to a pupil? Explain. If "intense subjects should alternate with 



lOO 



The Work of the Teacher 



those which are easier," how are we to determine which may 
properly be rated as intense subjects? 

20, How would you prove that application and accuracy decrease 
if a class period is unduly prolonged? 

21. Make a daily and weekly program for a room which includes 
fifth and sixth grades, allotting the following number of minutes 
to each subject (some classes will not recite every day). 



Reading .... 
Language , . . 
Spelling .... 
Arithmetic . . . 
History .... 
Geography . . 
Nature Study . . 

Art 

Music .... 
Manual Training . 
Penmanship . . 
Physical Education 
General Exercises 



Fifth Grade 


Sixth Grade 


Minutes 


Minutes 


125 


125 


ISO 


ISO 


SO 


SO 


125 


125 




140 


120 


120 


140 




90 


90 


60 


60 


90 


90 


7S 


75 


90 


90 


20 


20 



22. In the interest of sanitation as well as of tidy appearance, 
floors and yard should be kept free from waste paper and other 
refuse. The problem is best solved by instilling in every pupil 
an honest pride in keeping his school "looking right." How may 
this be done most effectually? 

23. Discuss the advantages and practical difficulties of each of 
the following substitutes for the school "public drinking cup ": 

(a) Each child own his cup. 

{h) Teach children to fold their cups out of square sheets of paper. 

(c) School furnish paper cups. 

{d) Sanitary drinking fountain. 

24. A part of the purpose of hygienic precautions in school is to 



The Teacher in Relation to External Elements loi 

accustom pupils to proper health and sanitary standards. What 
specific measures may be taken relative to each of the following? 

Responsibility of each for the health of all. 

Care of the teeth, nails, hands. 

Appreciation of the importance of fresh air and proper breathing. 

Readings 

Bagley : Classroom Management, IV-V (Daily program). 
Bur rage and Bailey : School Sanitation and Decoration (Decora- 
tion), VII, VIII. 
Colgrove : The Teacher and the School, XII, XIII (Daily program). 
Dresslar : School Hygiene, II-XIX, XXIII-XXV. 
Johnson : Education by Plays and Games (Playground). 
Terman : The Hygiene of the School Child, X-XIV. 



CHAPTER V 
GOVERNING AND MAINTAINING MORALE 

The meaning of government and morale. School govern- 
ment and discipline are terms popularly used to include a 
host of situations in which unsocial or antisocial tendencies 
impede the organized activity of the school group and have 
to be met by measures more or less apart from the regular 
life of the school and consequently somewhat wasteful. 
This view is indicated when it is said that the teacher governs 
best who governs least, — a true statement if it means that 
pupils and teacher are working well together. It is indicated 
also in the tendency of the lay public to overrate power to 
exercise the disciplinary function, a natural attitude since the 
casual visitor or parent may observe or learn of improper 
deportment, but is unable to analyze the situation and find 
the real cause of the outward break which may have been 
ignorance or lack of instructional skill on the part of the 
teacher. 

The writer prefers to use the term in a much wider sense, 
harking back to the original significance of the word as pilot 
or guide, and coupling with it the idea of maintaining morale, 
the proper mental and moral condition of zeal, spirit, zest, 
hope, or attitude confident of success. The teacher as gov- 
ernor guides, manages, controls, inspires, and keeps the group 
at work in orderly industry, insuring the " existence of a 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 103 

spirit of cooperation on the part of pupils with quick and 
intelligent sympathy of the teacher." ^ Governing and 
maintaining morale imply the use of all means to secure 
harmonious action in attaining the ends of the school. 

Purposes of school government. The two great purposes 
of school government are (i) to insure each member of the 
group an opportunity to perform advantageously the work 
assigned, without hindrance or distraction from other pupils, 
and (2) to develop habits and ideals of social behavior and 
self-control which will function in later situations. 

The school must have group and individual habits essential 
to its organization and activity, which no one expects to find 
widely applicable to other than school situations. If well 
conducted, it is no more a home-like than a shop-like or 
church-like place ; it is school-like, entitled to its own pe- 
culiar conventional modes, not to be approved or condemned 
because of their use in other social institutions, but meas- 
ured as to their effectiveness in realizing the school's purpose. 
Failure to concede this right to set its own standards of ap- 
propriate behavior leads to holding the formalness of average 
school organization up to undue scorn, and overemphasizing 
the force of school habits and attitudes carried into other 
environment. It is so easy for an educational lecturer who 
does not instruct children to raise a pedagogical laugh at 
almost anything the rank and file of conscientious teachers 
do. It has sometimes been suggested that because a generally 
accepted convention of the school disapproves helping a 
classmate in examination or whispering to his seatmate the 
forgotten answer to a question, there is danger that pupils 
may grow up as unsympathetic and uimeighborly adults. 

^ Bagley : School Discipline, 2. 



I04 The Work of the Teacher 

Some have even expressed the fear that because the child is 
required to obey his teacher during a period of years instead 
of reasoning out his own course of action, he may lack power 
of self-guidance and as a consequence fall a victim of wrong 
leadership. 

Without defending " transfer of training " more than 
modern psychology would sanction, it is doubtful whether 
such fears have any foundation. The child usually does and 
certainly should regard much of his school behavior as part 
of the situation — to be left with the schoolroom, or only to 
be revived in circumstances like those of the school. Thus 
the child who has learned not to " whisper " or walk about at 
will is likely to find these habits useful at church service or 
lecture ; the chances are, however, that he will not raise his 
hand to secure the speaker's permission to ask his seatmate a 
question, nor even though teachers may have required him 
to use such forms during several years is he tempted to hold 
up two fingers at a ball park to signify that he wishes to speak. 
In order to accomplish the work of the school many acts not 
essentially wrong are inappropriate or inexpedient. The 
reason for refraining from these most children can be brought 
to recognize clearly. 

It is equally important that the second function of govern- 
ment shall receive the most serious thought of the teacher. 
Out of the school's organization and morale must grow 
permanent habits and attitudes of cheerfulness, industry, 
optimism, frankness, accuracy, politeness, and success ; they 
are not fostered by a lazy, unsystematic, indefinite, tale- 
bearing, cheating, or impudent schoolroom atmosphere. 
There is no danger that the average American school will 
overdevelop such socially essential qualities as obedience 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 105 

to the authority of the teacher to an extent which might 
result in undue subservience, showing itself in dependent 
attitudes after school days are over. Rather it is probable 
that the unchecked individualism of most pupils needs greater 
force in insisting that duties shall be done quickly and un- 
questioningly in response to command ; there is a place for 
the military ideal, " Do this, this way and do it quickly." 
Those whose ideal is the loosely formed cooperating group 
with its intelligently optional " guided " activities are likely 
to undervalue strict obedience to constituted authority. 

Whether a given mode of behavior should be permitted in 
the school depends upon its agreement with realization of 
the two purposes just discussed. Shall pupils be permitted 
to whisper, write notes, leave seats without permission, play 
marbles " for keeps," loiter on the playground after the signal 
has been given for assembling or dismissal, throw snowballs, 
run down stairways, play boisterously in classrooms, chew 
gum, choose their own seats at the beginning of the term, 
correct each other's papers ? Relative to these and a host of 
other specific situations of school economy, concerning which 
inexperienced or mechanical teachers are ever asking, " What 

would you do if ? " there can be no universal answer. 

Each must be referred to the great purposes of government. 

Causes of infractions of discipline or lapse in morale. 
Several well-marked factors may be held to account for the 
teacher's difficulty in maintaining at all times the spirit of 
the best-governed school ; these lead directly or indirectly 
to loss of sympathy and cooperation, — occasionally to 
serious disturbance. 

I. Instinctive tendencies of children. First among these 
are the instinctive tendencies of the child. " Natural educa- 



io6 The Work of the Teacher 

tion " is a term which always wins applause though no one 
knows what it means. Certainly no one objects to making 
the educational process as natural as possible ; thoughtful 
teachers give nothing more effort than the attempt to find 
means of approach in harmony with child nature, but educa- 
tion — and civilization itself, for which education fits — is 
a highly artificial development, achieved only through over- 
coming many primal tendencies. It rests upon denial of 
immediate satisfactions in view of a deferred and sometimes 
very remote good. In school a pupil must sometimes work 
when he prefers to play ; with the most skillful use of " moti- 
vation " there is still much for which he can see no use, and 
he must move to some extent with his fellows, even when his 
own inclination might be to go faster or more slowly, or even 
to stop and fight. Instinctive and temperamental tendencies, 
— by definition the most fundamentally natural elements 
which enter into the makeup of those we teach, — very often 
lead in the opposite direction from the one in which education 
must go. No beginning teacher can afford to enter upon his 
work, planning to follow where child nature leads ; he should 
expect to meet natural characteristics which have to be 
opposed and checked. 

2. Influence of some homes against work of school. The 
influence of many homes is unmistakably against the con- 
structive work which the school is set to do. If parental 
action is divided by open quarreling, the child comes 
to school with a very poor ideal of authority. If parents 
swear at their children, profanity becomes a matter of 
course. Though few teachers can realize the awful moral 
handicap which some homes place upon their children, 
thoughtful observation enables us to read much into a few 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 107 

symptoms, infer more, and thus understand with greater 
sympathy. 

With regard to instilling the ideal of obedience, we do not 
know whether the typical American home is less effective 
than formerly nor how it compares in this respect with family 
life of other countries. Assuredly there was much complaint 
upon this score fifty years ago, and present-day accusations 
of the home are not confined to the United States. It seems 
that the home quite generally sends the school some rather 
hard problems ; the former may do without obedience, or 
the usual relations may be reversed, the mother dutifully 
obeying every mandate of her six-year-old daughter ; the 
latter must have obedience to the teacher. " John is a good 
boy, but he has to be taken just right ; he is so sensitive that 
we can't reprove him." " He is so good-hearted and easily 
led." " I know it isn't good for him, but I always give the 
child just what he wants." " My boy is peculiar ; he has a 
strong will Hke all his family ; there is no use trying to get 
him to do anything he takes a notion against." Every teacher 
soon learns that this firm conviction " My child is unusual," 
is held by many fathers and mothers. Parental pride in a 
child's shortcomings causes no small unpleasantness, especially 
when he has been made aware of it by deprecating recognition 
of his irregularity as a life fixture not to be questioned. 

3. Popular educational discussion misunderstood. Popular 
educational discussions have contributed to the difficulty of 
securing a healthy working spirit in the schoolroom. In the 
zeal to abate unquestioned abuses rhetorical statements of 
half truths are made which become entirely false when taken 
literally and applied seriously. " If I were a teacher and had 
a boy in my class who wanted to shout I should let him do 



io8 The Work of the Teacher 

it in the middle of any exercise," said one institute lecturer. 
" You should never kill his will ; let him express himself." 
" No child should be required to study unless he has a live 
interest." The popular protest against memoriter methods 
leads the indolent child, with parental criticism of the school 
ringing in his ears, to refuse, if possible, all memorizing. 

The effect of such discussions is hvmiorously apparent in 
the case of the high school pupil who was asked why he hated 
mathematics. *' I did not," he honestly admitted, " until I 
read that I ought to." Many otherwise intelligent persons have 
a vague feeling that pupils are asked to work because of some 
undefined stupidity of teachers or their obstinate delight in 
making children unhappy. Lack of appreciation of the fact 
that nothing comes of nothing reflects itself in misplaced 
protests against even reasonable standards and vigorous in- 
sistence upon performance. 

4. Mischief-inspiring school organization. Occasion for 
lack of harmony is sometimes found in a vicious or mischief- 
inspiring organization of the school. Long codes of rules, 
most of which might better remain impUed than expressed, 
serve the undoubted purpose of an exhilarating challenge to 
the daring spirit who wonders " what will happen if I do." 
Any plan which places young children upon their honor or 
gives advantage to one who prevaricates belongs in the cate- 
gory of immoral organization. A third-grade teacher asked 
at the close of every day how many times each had whispered 
and thereupon decorated the blackboard " honor roll " with 
dots in proportion to confessions. A few invincibly honest 
children reported truthfully, others lied shamelessly, and be- 
tween these extremes there was much puzzling of little wits 
about moral values. " It's funny," said one who arrived at 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 109 

this keen analysis of the plan, " if I whisper five times honestly 
I get five marks but if I talk twenty times and then lie about 
it, it's all right." Other things are more worthy of being 
counted than " whispering " ; if the counting is to be done 
it should not be under pressure. There are many schools 
in which lying is a lighter offense than taking a puff of a 
cigarette. Practices which result in such distorted moral 
views cannot be justified upon the ground of immediate results 
and certainly not when the larger function of government is 
considered. 

No one need expect a school to operate economically or 
without an occasional assertion of undesirable traits when 
pupils are sentenced to periods of idleness or unprofitable 
occupation. A mischievous boy who in a poorly organized 
school had been considered vicious gave no cause for complaint 
under better management. When asked by a former fellow 
culprit why he no longer " started anything " his reply was, 
" It's like this : when I git one lesson done I've got to git the 
next and when I'm through with it, it's time for another and 
so on all day long, so what's the use? " In this case a skill- 
fully devised work plan was the principal element in securing 
a new attitude. 

The problem has similar elements when the work of the 
school affords little outlet for the customary activity of the 
pupil. This is especially true in the primary grades ; it is 
difficult to turn to account all the restless movements of a 
six-year-old ; the child who is three fourths physical activity 
enters a school which is based primarily upon mental develop- 
ment. Dewey's oft-quoted and most serviceable illustration 
of the fact that school desks are for listening — not for doing 
— explains in part why many children find nearly all school 



no The Work of the Teacher 

work a bore ; it offers little of the motor t)^e of activity for 
which their capabilities cry out. The introduction of manual 
and motor subjects is helping the morale of the school by pro- 
viding an occasional oasis in what must appear to some a 
dreary desert of intellectuality. 

Without lowering the esteem in which ability to deal with 
ideas abstractly is held, we no longer deem unworthy of 
school privileges the child who is dominantly motor in his 
endowments. The time may come when we shall consider 
the absence of motor subjects in the daily activity of the 
school a case of immoral organization. But aside from larger 
changes in the school itself, every teacher can find occasions 
for varying the nature of work to suit individual needs. 
" Substitution is better than repression " ; guiding effort is 
more economical than restoring the proper status after an 
outbreak. For the irrepressibly restless there are errands 
and monitorial positions ; if some of these have value only 
for the one who performs the service their invention is justi- 
fiable. The time to introduce such variations is just before 
the pupil has reached his limit of sitting still or has worked as 
long as he will. 

5. The teacher as the cause of school troubles. The last and 
perhaps most frequent occasion of difficulty in governing and 
maintaining morale is to be found in the personality of the 
teacher. Certain personal characteristics render effective 
and sympathetic control exceedingly difficult. Weak per- 
sonality undefinable though it may be, shows among its 
more evident traits inconstancy, inconsistency, lack of positive 
force in a straight direction. In school the teacher of weak 
personality seems not to be " going anywhere," and of course 
cannot carry others by an energy which he does not possess. 



Governing and Maintaining Morale iii 

A highly educated and professionally trained weakling is a 
poor substitute for the untrained but forceful leader with less 
learning. Vacillation, procrastination, lack of sympathy and 
trust of pupils, harshness and display of temper alternating 
with undue leniency, seeing all to-day and nothing to-morrow, 
together with the tactlessness of one who is small and self- 
centered, are qualities which ruin the morale of any school. 
To look within themselves for elements which may be the 
cause of friction is stimulating for most teachers; by this 
means they may be inspired to use measures for the improve- 
ment of their own controlling and managing ability. 

Though not an indication of strength or weakness of char- 
acter the teacher's voice is of great significance in governing. 
Because of rasping or strident tones, the voice itself may be 
an element of disorder. Too loud speaking is not worse in 
its effect than use of insufficient force ; what seems a lack oi 
positive attitude is often only vocal inefficiency. Moderately 
pitched, deliberate utterance is most likely to insure the 
" carrying quality " so essential for schoolroom economy. 
The acoustic qualities of bare-walled, low, or flat schoolrooms 
are likely to be poor, causing the voice to echo or resound ; 
such conditions may sometimes be improved by the hanging 
of a few pictures or placing of other wall decorations. The 
teacher must continue to study the room to insure maximum 
advantage in the use of his voice. 

Essential elements in maintaining morale, i. The school 
must have organized routine. The school must have — not 
be — a machine. This means that many phases of organiza- 
tion should become automatic. The number of activities which 
may properly be reduced to habit varies with the size and type 
of the group. Manifestly a rural school enrolling five pupils 



112 The Work of the Teacher 

would be guilty of absurd waste if it attempted to imitate 
the routine of a school with five hundred. The " Rise, pass," 
and assigned spaces at the blackboard of a class of twenty be- 
come ridiculous when two or three constitute the reciting group. 
The somewhat elaborate mechanical organization necessary 
in dealing with large numbers may give place to the infor- 
mality of a household group when very few are involved. 

Opposing opinions as to the proper amount of organization 
rest upon different conceptions of its purpose. Advocates 
of extremely informal discipline assume that school routine 
has value only for school ends ; consequently, the less formal- 
ity the better. Those who prefer more organized routine 
might show that home-like discipline, except in very small 
groups, is a wasteful impossibility ; membership in a school 
which " goes like clockwork " or being part of a group activity 
executed with the uniformity and precision of the regiment on 
parade has distinctly valuable character consequences which 
the informally conducted school is not sure to offer. Such 
experiences do little toward developing initiative, resourceful- 
ness, and judgment, but they do a great deal for the qualities 
of preciseness and uniformity in executing in groups plans 
made by those in charge. However students of education 
may disagree as to the extent of routine which should prevail, 
opinion is unanimous that, once conceded as a legitimate 
situation for mechanized action, the habit of the individual 
or group should be thoroughly formed ; responses to signals 
or commands should be prompt and uniform. 

2. Initiate strongly and with a plan. Initiate strongly; 
the work of the first day of school may illustrate. The pur- 
pose is to make a correct start, using expedients which may 
continue in service, and to launch with a distinctly business- 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 113 

like attitude which is indicative of the tone of the school. 
To insure these aims the teacher must familiarize himself 
beforehand with the physical resources and liabilities of the 
room and school ; if new in the community he should be ac- 
quainted with the pronunciation of strange names found in 
the attendance ofl&cer's list or the previous year's register; 
he must know that work is provided for every possible pupil 
and that working material — at least paper and pencils — 
is available for all. If free textbooks are to be distributed, 
the recording system in use must be understood. 

The teacher should know that the opening exercise is planned 
so that there can be no hesitancy. It is no time to ask, "Who 
will volunteer to play for us or lead the singing? " If the 
teacher makes a talk, it should be positive. " I hardly know 
what to say to you this morning," is no way for him to begin ; 
his business is to know almost exactly what he has to say and 
his manner should indicate no doubt as to any next step. He 
who makes undue allowances for irregularities " because it 
is the first day " is borrowing from later reserves ; better is 
a too strict than a too lenient attitude. Aside from essential 
preliminary steps which do not consume much of the school 
day there is little excuse for the malingering tactics followed 
in some schools by which pupils and parents get the notion 
that " nothing much will be done " the first day — or week. 
School terms are not too long, and school — real school — 
should begin when it is announced. If the term is to be one 
of well-directed effort, its initial day is worth more than any 
other in making it so. 

The general tenor of what has been said with reference to 
the first day applies with equal force to getting all measures 
under way. Initiate strongly and with a plan. 



114 The Work of the Teacher 

3. Persistence essential to use of plans initiated. Persistence 
is essential in any course of action when it is once initiated. 
Be sure you are right, then go, but nothing worth while goes 
entirely of itself. Eternal vigilance is the price of fine morale 
in school. The most perfect organization, initiated with 
tremendous momentum, runs down in a few days unless the 
teacher is alert. Almost everything is easier than hitting the 
line hard every time. Doing half of what is expected, letting 
the words in a column lose alignment, leaning against a sup- 
port when supposed to stand clear, failure to form the straight 
line for which regulation calls, getting into seats or at work a 
little late — all are symptoms of relaxing spirit in the school. 
It is easy to overlook, but every lapse is registered in a descent 
which must be arrested, often with a spasmodic reform which 
leaves the plane a little lower than if the initial level had been 
maintained. 

4. Hold pupils to the obligation of the school situation. 
Place the emphasis upon the work pupils are doing. No 
school is well governed and kept high in morale unless the work 
itself is master. Occasionally what seems a fine school spirit 
develops around the magnetic quahties of an unusual per- 
sonality ; unless the mysterious charm is sufficient to com- 
municate an interest in what is being accomplished such 
" personal " teachers are likely to be greatly overrated — 
and hard to follow. The best teachers may be the most 
charming, but they must also possess ability to secure effort 

I from those they instruct. The appeal, " Do this for my 
sake," is usually the ineffective plea of the weakling for whom 
pupils may have pity but little respect. The finest ties of 
personal influence are not injured by taking a firm, business- 
like, and impersonal attitude toward work to be done. As- 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 115 

sume the work relationship implied by the pupil's presence 
at school and hold him responsible for performance according 
to his ability. A daily schedule or study plan which keeps 
all properly conscious of what is expected has a powerful but 
not irksome influence ; most children come to school expecting 
work requirements and rather willingly perform tasks which 
appear as the natural order of things. 

Holding pupils to the obligation of the school situation is not 
merely a matter of quantitative requirements ; they should 
be brought to reahze that doing less than one's best is posi- 
tively immoral. If slipshod work is accepted, it will be offered ; 
the moral responsibility of holding pupils to their highest 
standard rests upon the teacher. 

5. Scholarship is an element of control. Thorough familiar- 
ity with subject matter to be presented is requisite for suc- 
cessful control. " The eye of the master does more than his 
hands," is as true in the schoolroom as in the shop. No 
teacher can exert much presence while he has his eyes riveted 
upon the textbook page in a desperate endeavor to keep up 
with a reciting class, meanwhile conscious of the wisdom of 
casting an occasional glance over the non-reciting group of 
the usual classroom who are presumably at work. The poise 
and air of assurance which should be the inseparable endow- 
ment of every teacher are difficult to preserve in the presence 
of an inner confession of bluff. To teach in fear that a ques- 
tion may be asked which might expose the teacher to a charge 
of at least contributory negligence is a trying experience. 
The meager academic capital with which some begin their 
teaching career is the cause of many cases of failure in disci- 
pline set down as due to other defects. With increasing 
educational requirements teachers may begin their work 



ii6 The Work of the Teacher 

with greater assurance of their preparation, but only daily 
planning of all anticipated teaching situations can insure the 
positive grip of the successful teacher. 

Incentives. The character of the incentives upon which 
the teacher relies has much to do with the tone and effective- 
ness of the school. An incentive is that which incites to 
action, — an idea of a remote goal or purpose toward which 
the pupil directs his effort. Incentives have been classified 
as natural and artificial, low and high, negative and positive ; 
a useful classification is made by Bagley, who evaluates them 
in proportion to their appeal to social rather than individu- 
alistic tendencies. Rigid classifications of school measures 
according to their incentive appeal cannot be profitably made 
except in relation to individual pupils in specific situations. 
The same objective attainment may be viewed as an end 
desired, or as something it is feared will not be achieved. 
Without attempting to determine the class into which the 
idea of any proposed end may fall, the general statements 
which follow hold true in most cases. 

1, Positive versus negative incentives. Positive incentives, 
those which inspire to action through hope, are better than 
negative, fear inspiring. A promise is better than a threat. 
It is easy to see that the temperament of pupils often deter- 
mines which appeal a given situation makes ; one hopes he 
will succeed, the other fears he will not. The teacher who 
so organizes work that the maximum number spend their 
time in hopeful activity is realizing present economy while 
developing wholesome attitudes. 

2. Group versus individual appeals. Appeals to group or 
social instincts are preferable to those which promise ad- 
vantage to the individual. Generally speaking, incentives 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 117 

classed as " low " are individualistic. Working for " our " 
is better than for " my " advantage. Necessarily self- 
centered in early childhood, normal development brings the 
pupil ability to consider his school, class, or team. 

3. Only attainable ends effective as incentives. The effec- 
tiveness of an incentive depends upon the felt possibility of 
its realization. Many incentives classed as " high " prevail 
but fleetingly with most children because the promised goal 
can be achieved only at a time so far deferred as to lie beyond 
their comprehension. 

4. Best incentives become ideals of lifelong value. The best 
incentives are those which will continue to function in the 
life of the pupil after school days are over. From this point 
of view self-approval caused by doing a good piece of work is 
better than approval of the teacher, for the teacher's influence, 
however great, wanes after school relationships cease. One 
of the great purposes of the school is to develop ideals — the 
ability to objectify or think of one's self as he would prefer to 
be — so that they may be effective in shaping conduct. The 
pupil who is neat, accurate, industrious, thorough, or polite, 
because he scorns to think of himself as slovenly, careless, 
idle, a " quitter," or a boor, is actuated by the most de- 
pendable and lasting of incentives. Inspiring all children 
through their 'ideals to right deportment and use of their 
time will remain an ideal itself not attainable; discrimi- 
nation in the use of other motives is a measure of the 
skilled teacher. Children may be scared into work, enticed 
with headmarks, promises of candy, holidays, or the "right" 
to erase the blackboard, but the effect upon character must 
be considered as well as immediate success in stimulating 
effort or present good order. Using the principles enumer- 



ii8 The Work of the Teacher 

ated, it is not difficult to evaluate the devices commonly 
used as incentives. 

5, Incentives commonly employed, {a) Prizes. Prizes have 
a positive appeal for a few who habitually win, arouse fear 
in a few whose intellectual superiority is not invincible, and 
leave the great majority, including those most in need of 
incitement, quite unconcerned except as spectators, since 
they realize clearly that prizes are not for them. If prizes 
are provided for all who achieve a given standard of excel- 
lence, average a given mark or percentage, or if they are 
awarded for specific degrees of improvement now easily meas- 
ured in some subjects, their effectiveness is considerably 
widened in its application and the probability of jealousy 
and dissatisfaction with awards is appreciably lessened. 

One objection frequently urged against all forms of prizes 
is that lessons learned under their stimulus are soon forgotten. 
This is probably an exaggerated accusation ; perhaps if a 
subject is learned, or improvement made, the motive which 
prompted the effort put forth has little to do with permanence 
of acquisition. What is hastily or barely learned is of course 
not long retained, but such learning is not a necessary conse- 
quence of a prize system, and is commonly enough found 
where no definite incentive devices are employed. Tested 
from all sides, however, prizes cannot be accorded high rank 
as incentives. 

(6) Privileges and exemptions. Privileges and exemption 
,from the performance of tasks are extensively used as in- 
centives. Preferred seats are made the prize of diligence; 
pupils whose work is uniformly excellent are excused from 
examination ; high per cent of punctuality or attendance 
gives to the individual or group a partial holiday. Some of 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 119 

these and others of the same type are very effective, especially 
when they are made to appeal to a wider circle than typical 
prizes are capable of doing. Conspicuous privilege extended 
to a member of the school group is likely to result in dislike 
of the one favored as " teacher's pet " ; excusing from regular 
school exercises deprives the one thus honored of what should 
have value for him ; the practice tends to place such exercises 
in the light of something to be escaped. 

(c) Exhibition of pupil's work. The incentive of an ex- 
hibition of the pupil's written work is limited, as are the 
others so far discussed, owing to the fact that a few pupils 
most in need of inspiration cannot produce a bit of creditable 
work even with heroic effort. A specific defect of such ex- 
hibitions is the tendency to reward the individual for small 
samples of his accomplishment wrought with infinite care 
which may in no sense represent his typical achievement. 
A very poor penman can sometimes draw beautiful letters. 
Added to these shortcomings display work is limited to a few 
fields in which technique counts ; it does nothing for the 
encouragement of school activities in which thinking is the 
important element, nor is the difference between original and 
copied material usually evident. 

(d) Marks and promotion. Marks (grades) have much in 
common with incentives already discussed ; they appeal most 
strongly to those in least need of incitement. Promotion, 
usually associated with marks, exercises its greatest force in 
the upper grades and is most effective near the end of the term. 
Unfortunately " failure to pass " is by some teachers too con- 
stantly kept before pupils. With the child in whom it arouses 
greatest anxiety, failure to be promoted with his class repre- 
sents nothing less than a breakup of his world. The teacher 



I20 The Work of the Teacher 

who is eternally threatening pupils with failure is using a 
cruel weapon so far as nervous or over-conscientious children 
are concerned, and a useless one for those less suggestible. 

The question is occasionally raised whether scholarship 
marks should be affected by the pupil's deportment or a 
pupil's standing in history lowered because he does not spell 
or write well in papers upon this branch. There can be but 
one general answer to such questions — before the work is in 
the hands of the teacher for correction and estimate, the pupil 
should know exactly what is to be considered in giving final 
rating. The time to explain that the paper loses one per cent 
for each word incorrectly spelled is before it is written. Ac- 
cording to his sense of justice the pupil whose work is thus 
penalized feels that he has been taken off guard and might 
have made a better defense if he had known what was ex- 
pected. In general, children find it difficult to see the fairness 
of measuring with one mark two accomplishments as diverse 
as knowledge of history and penmanship or spelling. Both 
effectiveness as an incentive and clear understanding of what 
is expected are better served by using two marks in such cases. 

The worship of marks so general in our schools has long 
been deplored, but no great progress has been made toward 
the ideal occasionally recommended of using but two ratings, 
satisfactory and unsatisfactory. With marks eliminated as 
incentives, emulation based upon comparison between pupils 
would be lessened and children would also lose the spur of 
comparing themselves with their own past records. Skill- 
fully used, marks contribute much to successful operation of 
the school ; abused, they easily become the occasion of mis- 
understanding and loss. The details of marking are discussed 
in Chapter IX. 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 121 

(e) The incentive of approval or praise. The incentive of 
approval or praise, whether of parents or teacher, has the 
advantage over those previously noted in making possible 
the rewarding of effort. Patient, persevering attempts some- 
times fail to bring results above mediocre or inferior, or to 
produce achievement of which any good can be said if judged 
by a reasonable objective standard. In Andersen's fable the 
hare was given first prize because he was swift; the snail 
received second place for " though he required six months to 
cross the threshold, he broke his thigh bone in his haste "- 
effort. The hare and the snail are not more different 
than the extremes of ability among children in our schools. 
Most incentives take hold of the swift and strong ; only praise 
and approval can reach the blundering and weak ; perhaps 
more attention to distribution of commendation for effort 
would brighten school experience for many who quietly ejidure 
it. A little analysis might show that in many schoolrooms 
a comparatively small group of children who come from homes 
where parents are most helpful and appreciative monopolizes 
the highest marks, secures all prizes, produces most of the 
display work, and wins the unconscious approbation of the 
teacher by superior attainment. In the presence of such 
unequal distribution of the pleasanter features which vitalize 
the school day, may not simple justice demand that the 
teacher consider it part of his responsibiUty to seek diligently 
qualities, efforts, and attitudes which can be praised ? 

The amount and distribution of praise and commendation 
cannot safely be left to accident and the inspiration of the 
class moment. The teacher who expresses approval in care- 
less praise of every effort cheapens what should be highly 
prized recognition, and soon finds himself adjective-bank- 



122 The Work of the Teacher 

rupt — unable to give this incentive force. On the other 
hand, many excellent teachers dole out commendation in 
niggardly fashion so that pupils despair of pleasing them. 
" Oh well, no one can ever please him, so I don't care," is not 
the necessary accompaniment of high standards. The teacher 
who studies and plans the use of praise as an incentive, think- 
ing of it in relation to each child in the room, has one of the 
finest means of preserving sympathy between himself and his 
pupils. 

(/") Socialized pride in reputation of room, school, or com- 
peting group. Pride in the reputation of the school or room 
is a socialized incentive. Unlike most of those discussed, the 
pupil must substitute " our " for " my " in his thinking, — 
a great step in character development. Contests between 
rooms for highest attendance or punctuality records, rivalry 
between society or class organizations, and the keen ambition 
of the " A " class to excel the " B " class in deportment or 
scholarship are examples of such social incentives at work. 

School spirit, often associated with noisy demonstrations 
of irregular and extra-curricular activities, when made to 
function in all departments of work may accomplish wonders. 
This may be illustrated in the high reputation of a village 
school situated where neither community course of study, 
building, children, nor teachers can account for its deserved 
preeminence, largely due to the skillful capitalization by the 
superintendent of the social instincts in rival groups. From 
primary grades through the high school, inter-class and inter- 
group athletics include nearly every member of the school in 
a team ; rooms are divided for the purpose of contests in 
spelling, geography, and arithmetic into rival teams — 
" Tigers," " Hornets," and " Workers " — daily scores being 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 123 

kept like those of league teams. The school is a hum of in- 
spired industry, loyalty to competing groups being equaled 
only by universal pride in the reputation of the school itself. 
The incentive value of such competing groups, and the fine 
loyalty and cooperation in teamwork which they develop, 
constitute valid arguments against maintaining schools in 
which numbers are so small as to make interesting contests 
impracticable if there is a possibility of bringing a larger 
group together by means of consolidation. Even in many 
large schools and classes, teachers are not using the device of 
competitive groups to the extent of its worth. 

Pupil self-government. The plan of pupil self-govern- 
ment claims recognition both as a device for maintaining order 
and as an illustration of the forms of government in which 
pupil participation is designed to develop a life interest. 

I. Pupil self-government as a device of school control. So 
far as the first claim is concerned, it probably requires greater 
reserve of governing power to insure successful operation 
than does the usual plan ; enthusiastic advocates are inclined 
to ignore the fact that its most striking successes have been 
achieved by inspiring personalities, who could maintain ex- 
cellent morale without its employment. No one should hope 
to subdue an uncontrollable school by this means. On the 
other hand, a teacher who is strong in organization and execu- 
tive force can afford to initiate the plan which may solve many 
minor problems and result in a more cooperative school spirit. 
" Only he deserves freedom who could achieve it every day " 
might well be applied in this connection as, " Only he can 
afford pupil self-government who can govern well without it." 
The tendency to degenerate into a thinly masked system of 
spying and tale-bearing is the greatest danger to which pupil 



124 ^^^ Work of the Teacher 

self-government is exposed. The practical consequences of, 
" I will have you arrested by the school police or monitor " 
are surprisingly Uke those of " I shall tell teacher on you," 
and the latter saves time, since appeal is made directly to 
the one who will finally exercise authority. 

2. Pupil self-government to develop interest in our political 
institutions. The claim that pupil self-government accustoms 
children to participation in governmental forms, thus insur- 
ing life interest in our poHtical institutions, brings to its 
support some plausible reasons. It is said that a school 
organized as a monarchy cannot train citizens for life in a 
democracy, and that the apathy of many toward the party 
organizations which perform such important functions in the 
selection of our officers is due to the years spent in a " boss " 
ruled school. Whatever validity there may be in such argu- 
ments, comparisons between the school and adult society 
yield conclusions of limited application; the school is essen- 
tially a monarchy since its leader, who exercises final authority, 
is not selected by the pupils. In the education of the typical 
American citizen intelligent participation in selection of those 
who are to govern is quite necessary; no less important is 
the development of willingness to be guided by or even to 
obey the expert whom democracy must select for leader- 
ship in much the same way as it does teachers, not of 
necessity chosen directly by those who are served and 
directed. Obeying and following legally constituted leader- 
ship or authority is excellent preparation for the many 
contacts with our officers which have no direct relation to 
electing them. As laboratory civics illustrative of govern- 
ment, pupil self-goverimient takes its place with holding 
elections, conducting mock trials, and other dramatic means 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 125 

of putting vital meaning into the teaching of civic relation- 
ships and duties. 

Corrective measures of discipline, i. Necessity of coercive 
measures. In the school with the best government and 
morale, infractions of discipline occur which must for the 
good of the offender and group be met with corrective meas- 
ures. The punishment phase of control looms large in the 
mind of the prospective teacher ; he wonders what he would 
do if pupils proved unruly. And, unknown to him, the 
chances are that a group of hardy little spirits are wondering 
how far they will be able to go with the teacher next term, 
or even concerting schemes for executing maneuvers near 
the " perilous edge." In both these cases punitive measures 
assume undue significance, but they are far too important to 
be overlooked or dismissed with the easy statement that " the 
less said of them the better," though this may in practice be 
very true. A few statements of general principles and ideals 
may aid in determining a proper attitude toward school 
punishments. 

2. General suggestions for use of school penalties, (a) Look 
for cause of unsatisfactory conduct. In every case of corrective 
discipHne the teacher's self -directed question is, " Why did 
this happen? " Careful study may reveal some element 
of the situation against which outbreak is sympathetically 
understood. " How would this regulation, remark, neglect, 
or condition affect me? " Search for juvenile justification 
of unsocial deportment may change attitudes at once and 
lead to prudent adjustments preventive of overt rebellion. 

(&) The impersonal and objective attitude. An impersonal 
and objective attitude must be preserved. The most trouble- 
some pupil seldom has a personal grievance at Miss A. as an 



126 The Work of the Teacher 

individual member of the community but he does with Miss A. 
in her present status as his teacher. He may be incHned to 
show specific animosity because she belongs to a class regarded 
as his natural oppressors or enemies. The teacher who can 
analyze the situation clearly finds an element of humor in 
the relationships involved. " He is trying to annoy the 
teacher (me) though I think he would like me were I not his 
teacher. And I as teacher must disapprove what he (pupil) 
is doing, though it would be interesting enough and perhaps 
amusing were he not a pupil and I not his teacher. For the 
time being I shall think of him as an organism — an ' it ' — 
which is not working exactly right." Thus considered, being 
angry with a pupil becomes as impossible as it is ridiculous. 
" A musician does not strike his lyre a blow with his fist or 
a stick nor does he throw it against the wall because it pro- 
duces a discordant sound ; but setting to work on scientific 
principles, he tunes it and gets it into order. Just such a 
skillful and sympathetic treatment is necessary to instil a 
love of learning into the minds of our pupils." — (Comenius.) 

(c) Assume innocence of wrongdoing or intention. Assume 
innocence unless the case is clear. The less evidence secured 
under any form of constraint, from witnesses or tale-bearing, 
equally hated by pupils and teachers, the better. Accusing 
a pupil is likely to prevent his confession, which otherwise 
might come either in words or amended conduct. The sus- 
picion that the teacher is " down upon " him or " has it in 
for " him causes trouble, which giving a clean slate might 
avoid. 

{d) Penalties awarded to prevent and not to compensate wrong- 
doing. Offenses apt to be repeated should be reckoned with 
rather than those not likely to recur. For this reason willful 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 127 

misdeeds must be noticed while the same actions without 
mahce may be overlooked ; intentional wrong-doing repre- 
sents a fixed attitude which should be changed. No one can 
reasonably punish for what has been done ; preventing repeti- 
tion is the purpose. The wrong act done cannot be undone ; 
corrective and coercive measures look forward, not backward. 

{e) Punishment severe enough to be unpleasant. When 
punishment must be inflicted it should in some way hurt or 
be distinctly unpleasant. Punishing a bold offender by mak- 
ing him stand in a corner from which he slyly amuses the 
school by various antics is an example of a pleasant and in- 
effective penalty. 

(/) Sequential quality of punishment. A punishment should 
be closely associated with the offense and if possible bear a 
sequential relation to it. The fundamental idea of natural 
punishment is of value, even though it cannot always be 
applied. Briefly stated it is the doctrine that the offender 
should take the natural consequences of his action without 
the interposition of other corrective force ; it is learning by 
unguided personal experience. But experience is a slow, 
uncertain, and dreadfully wasteful way of learning ; progress 
has been made possible only by finding expedients to avoid 
the direful consequences of false steps. The natural punish- 
ment of the truant would be that he should realize in adult 
life the need of the schooling he refused. Society, however, 
unwilling that he should suffer the consequences of irrespon- 
sible youthful neglect, compels him to attend school, and the 
teacher perhaps requires him to make up time lost in un- 
excused absence. Living in ignorance would be the natural, 
making up lost time the sequential, punishment of truancy in 
the foregoing illustration. Such sequential penalties have 



128 The Work of the Teacher 

Sit least enough advantages to justify expenditure of effort 
in devising punitive measures of this type if corrective means 
must be employed. 

(i) If not long deferred, they are unlikely to be misunder- 
stood. 

(2) Sequential punishments are likely to appeal to the 
pupil as reasonable, since, in a sense, they are self-invoked. 
If one wastes time, he makes it up ; if too boisterous upon the 
playground, he remains in his seat at playtime and enjoys the 
playground alone ; if he annoys those in front, he is given a 
front seat where there are none to annoy. 

(3) Sequential punishments are likely to bring reformation, 
since the unpleasant association is made with the offense 
itself rather than with the entire undefined school situation. 
Many carelessly imposed penalties have little educative value 
because they lack this sequential relationship. Requiring 
a child to copy his lesson at recess because he pinched a class- 
mate or failed to wipe his shoes properly is unreasonable ; to 
require the same piece of work because he had written the 
lesson carelessly or wasted his time while others worked would 
make the right association. 

3. Commonly used penalties and corrective measures, (a) Re- 
proof. Reproof is most effective when given as a straight talk 
because of a definite act, to the pupil specifically concerned. 
Rare are the occasions, as when the offense itself is public, for 
administering reproof publicly. General reproof is hardly 
justified unless addressed to a group in which all members are 
implicated, since many who should give most earnest heed are 
immune to all such influences. If the misdemeanor is not 
too serious and the teacher knows how to utilize a fine sense 
of humor present in every schoolroom group, a mild form of 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 129 

good-natured satire is a proper medium which loses none of 
its effectiveness by being keenly appreciated. The use of 
such means is open to great abuse and should not be attempted 
unless the teacher is entirely sure of the spirit in which his 
remarks will be received. Promises or threats have no place 
in the teacher's repertoire. If uttered seriously, they are use- 
less ; if not, they are soon recognized as mere " bluff " and are 
pernicious in their influence. 

(b) Withdrawal of privilege. Withdrawal of privileges 
which have been abused is a commonly employed sequential 
coercive measure. Justifiable uses of the plan are : separat- 
ing pupils who whisper too constantly, removing monitors 
who are disorderly in performing their services, isolating the 
quarrelsome or too easily injured, or suspending the abused 
privilege of free access to dictionary or pencil sharpener which 
the rest of the group enjoy at will. 

(c) Keeping after school. Keeping after school is an effec- 
tive measure, sequential in its nature for a large number of 
irregularities which can be construed as a waste of time. 
Truancy, unexcused or needless tardiness, idleness, either 
directly apparent or made evident by failure to complete 
reasonable tasks, may sometimes be reached in this way. 
The use of this measure is limited by the fact that both teacher 
and pupils usually have full days without this addition, school- 
room temperature frequently becomes too low for occupancy 
soon after dismissal, and parents needing their children at 
home are likely to protest against this extra-legal lengthening 
of the school day. 

(d) Sending to the principal. In graded schools, sending to 
the principal is a common practice. If the occasion is one of 
street or playground difficulty, the classroom teacher cannot 



130 The Work oj the Teacher 

always assume responsibility. Capable teachers seldom wish 
to employ this means for classroom offenses, since it tends to 
weaken their authority. The principal also resents a situa- 
tion in which he is made a court of appeal with little oppor- 
tunity for securing evidence. He very often sees immediately 
that the teacher is at fault but expects ofl&cial support in the 
unreasonable position assumed. To maintain the " teacher's 
authority " without being unjust to the child is sometimes 
impossible. The best maxim to follow is, " The classroom 
teacher for classroom matters." 

(e) Corporal punishment. Corporal punishment, from its 
former universal vogue, has receded until it is now forbidden 
by law or express regulation in some schools. Where it is 
not prohibited, many cases of corporal punishment in a 
monthly report is not an item to be proud of. Most teachers 
who govern successfully by use of the rod could do as well 
without it ; few children who cannot be controlled except by 
this means are greatly benefited by it. In spite of all these 
amply demonstrated facts, there are still communities in 
which it is expected as a matter of course, so that managing 
without it is difficult. In schools where it has been com- 
pletely abolished, many teachers favor the restoration of the 
right to use it. A safe practice for most teachers is to abstain 
from inflicting corporal punishment without permitting any 
understanding that it will not be used in a desperate situation. 

(/") Suspension and expulsion. Suspension and expulsion 
are in a sense not school punishments, since their effect is to 
place the pupil more or less permanently outside of school 
influence. Either is confession of failure to meet the demands 
growing out of an abnormal, erratic, or spoiled child's dis- 
position — at the same time keeping him in school. This is 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 131 

not of necessity admission that the school is at fault ; the 
case may be hopeless, since the child is so defective, morally 
delinquent, or uncontrollable that he should be removed from 
contact with normal children. If a negUgent home attitude 
is at fault, these measures sometimes enlist parental coopera- 
tion when all other expedients fail. So serious a step as driv- 
ing a child from school is not to be lightly taken, and school 
laws seldom place power of suspension or expulsion in the 
hands of the teacher, reserving it as a power belonging to the 
board of education. 

While depriving the child of school privileges should usually 
be the result only of serious breaches of discipline or incorrigible 
behavior, an unintelligent zeal for education which com- 
placently declares that " no one ever regrets time spent in 
school " sometimes leads to toleration of good-natured, well- 
behaved idlers in attendance long after compulsory school 
age ; it would be far better for some of these, for society, and 
certainly for the efl&ciency of the school in which they occupy 
needed space and at least a small share of the teacher's atten- 
tion, if they were guided to a place in the productive industry 
of the community. 

In such cases a talk with pupil or parent or both is prefer- 
able to formal action. " How much were you earning when 
you left work to start to school? " said a teacher to a seven- 
teen-year-old boy irregularly classified in the seventh grade. 
The wages being named, the teacher said, " And do you think 
you are earning that much now, learning anything, or becom- 
ing a better man because of being in school? Frankly I do 
not think you are." " I never thought of it that way before ; 
I believe I am just loafing; I think I'll go back to work." 
This pupil had attended irregularly for years, and there seemed 



132 The Work of the Teacher 

little in the school work upon which he could organize his 
effort. Of course it would be better if defective foundations 
through irregular attendance were impossible ; the school 
should make adjustments; continuation schools may some- 
time be provided for such cases ; but until these changes are 
made the greatest service the school can render such a pupil 
is to help him to find himself. The length of time he is en- 
couraged to belong is not a reliable measure of the advantage 
derived from attendance. School tasks not taken seriously 
are morally a poor substitute for a trade or occupation recog- 
nized as fully worth while. 



Exercises 

1. {a) "Bear constantly in mind the truth that the aim of your 
discipline should be to produce a self-governing being, not to pro- 
duce a being to be governed by others." (Spencer.) 

Q)) "All teachers who deserve the name now recognize that self- 
control is the ultimate moral object of training in youth — a self- 
control independent of temporary artificial restraints, exclusions, 
or pressures, as also of the physical presence of a dominating per- 
son ; to cultivate in the young this self-control should be the steady 
object of parents and teachers all the way from babyhood to full 
maturity." (Eliot.) 

Find other quotations relative to the purpose of school govern- 
ment. 

2. In the government of a school what is the place of such ex- 
pressions as "Please," "If you please," "Thank you"? Rank 
the following as assignments of work : 

{a) I want you to take the next problem. 

{h) Take the next problem. 

(c) Take the next problem, please. 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 133 

(d) Next take the next — the one after the one he had. I mean 
the third one. 

3. Give an example in which school discipline was made more 
difficult by a lack of understanding between home and school; 
a case in which disciplinary problems were simpUfied by a conver- 
sation between teacher and parent. 

4. If the teacher has made the wrong command he may rescind 
his order, explaining that he has made a mistake, or forget to en- 
force his directions. Which is the better plan? 

5. A teacher was endeavoring to break up spontaneous answer- 
ing of all questions in a large class. In spelling she pronounced 

"Sold — the calf was sold for how much anyhow?" "Two 

dollars," chirped one over-ready pupil. "Five." "You mean a 
hundred and five." "Aw, that's too much," followed in quick 
succession. Who caused the lapse in reform of class etiquette? 

6. "There are a few principles that every teacher who wishes to 
be well liked by his pupils should keep in mind. Some of these 
are as follows: 

"Cultivate a genuine sympathy with your pupils, don't try to 
assume it. In this you cannot successfully make believe. If you 
have no real interest in your pupils, they will soon detect the fact. 
You cannot fool them even if you fool yourself. To gain this 
sympathy you must strive to understand the nature of boys and 
girls, if you have forgotten yourself what that nature is. You 
must try to find how their minds work ; what they think and feel ; 
what their hopes and ambitions are. 

"Do not let your sympathy run away with you. If a pupil has 
been delinquent in his work or in his conduct, hold him accountable. 
The kind teacher is looked up to ; the ' easy ' teacher is generally 
despised. ..." 

"Do not attempt to gain favor by being undignified. You 
cannot be on the same level with your pupils, neither do they wish 
you to be. You may be their advisor and their model, you cannot 



134 The Work of the Teacher 

be their chum." (Colvin : Introduction to High School Teaching, 
81-82.) 

Describe school situations which illustrate the truth or falsity 
of the foregoing propositions. 

7. Bagley makes the following classification relative to objec- 
tionable teaching voice : (o) shrill, rasping ; {b) loud, noisy ; (c) in- 
articulate ; {d) thin, feeble ; (e) monotonous. Toward which of 
these does your voice tend? What measures may be taken to 
improve it? 

8. Of the high school teacher who during the first year of ex- 
perience finds difficulty in maintaining discipline, an inspector 
says, 

(fl) " He lacks self-confidence ; he is afraid of himself and afraid 
of his pupils. 

{b) "He cannot adequately imagine consequences; he lacks the 
ability to picture what is likely to occur; he does not know the 
first symptoms of disorder. 

(c) "He does not initiate the proper habits of class attention 
and provide the necessary routine from the outset. He lets matters 
drift until the class has acquired bad habits and the situation be- 
comes critical. Then he often acts too late." (S, S. Colvin, in 
School and Society, VH, 451.) 

To what extent would this apply in discipline of elementary 
grade rooms? What differences exist between the disciplinary 
problems of the high school and of the grades ? 

9. An industrious high school graduate became the teacher of a 
rural school. The first day, after calling pupils together and secur- 
ing their names, she gave each a list of the new books he would need* 
and sent all home to secure books. This was in imitation of the 
practice in the graded school which the young woman had at- 
tended. Naturally this was not a good beginning in the rural 
school. The patrons of the school said, "Just like those town 
girls; most of them have no sense." Her high school teachers 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 135 

said, "She was one of the best in the class ; her mistake is surpris- 
ing." The county superintendent said, "If she had been re- 
quired to have a year of professional training, this would not have 
happened." The teacher herself said, "I see no reason why it is 
worse to waste a day in a country school than in town ; we always 
wasted the first day while I attended." 

To what extent are all of the foregoing remarks true? If you 
were a rural school teacher, what specific measures would you take 
to insure the success of the first half day ? 

10. The following games are prohibited in some schools : crack- 
the-whip, wrestling, boxing, playing marbles for keeps, snow-ball- 
ing. What are the objections to them? What is the best way to 
manage each? Aside from his disciplinary function, what are the 
playground responsibilities of the teacher? It is generally con- 
ceded that the secret of playground discipline is to keep something 
going all the time. Name ten games you could introduce when 
pupils are tired of the sports they have been using. 

11. Make an analysis of one pupil's school day into the elements 
of play, work, and drudgery as you understand these terms. If 
drudgery is present in some degree, how might it be transformed 
into work or play? 

12. A school was organized into rapid calculation teams and a 
record of contests kept. To make sure that every pupil was given 
opportunity to do some of the kind of work in which he had the 
greatest ability, the teacher usually gave the same number of ex- 
amples in each process, e.g. addition, subtraction, cancellation, 
addition of fractions. Five points were awarded for the first cor- 
rect result, three for the second, and one for a third. The score 
card which was posted after each contest showed the team record 
and the score of each individual ; it was cumulative, including not 
only the day's results but the total of points won during the 
series. The pupils made the score cards under the teacher's 
direction. Make a card suitable for use in such a contest. List 



136 The Work of the Teacher 

precautions necessary to secure the success of a contest series 
of this kind. Work out definite plans for similar exercises in 
other subjects. 

13. The French government awards every year thousands of 
dollars' worth of school prizes for excellence in scholarship. What 
would be the gain and the loss if such a prize system were intro- 
duced in this country? 

14. All are familiar with the power of fashion in determining 
conduct. Give examples of "fashion" in school deportment. 
What class of pupils are most influential in setting standards of 
school behavior ? 

15. What would be gained by having monitors elected by pupils 
instead of appointed by the teacher? 

16. "One more evidence that the teacher is using his authority 
in the professional spirit will be his exercise of it impersonally and 
dispassionately. This will show itself not only in the classroom, but 
also in the interviews which he has with parents. Always will he 
consider the pupil offender as one who has violated the law or out- 
raged the rights of his fellow pupils ; never will he accept the pupil's 
misconduct as a personal affront to himself. Moreover he will 
deflect the parents' attempts to put his child's wrongdoing on this 
personal basis. Frequently is the mother ready to extend her 
sympathy to the teacher. 'I know,' she says, 'John must be a 
great trial and annoyance to you.' The teacher should promptly 
disclaim the need for sympathy. John has not annoyed him; 
John cannot annoy him. This is not a personal matter between 
John and his teacher." (Perry : Status of the Teacher, 65-66.) 
According to this very reasonable statement it is part of the teach- 
er's work to deal with children considered "troublesome." List 
peculiar problems of other professions which seem to you annoying 
but are probably regarded in the same impersonal way by those 
whose business it is to solve them. 

17. A short pencil whizzed across a quiet schoolroom from such 



Governing and Maintaining Morale 137 

a direction that the teacher was in no doubt as to the missile 
thrower — a newly entered boy of bad reputation. Detaining the 
lad a moment at recess, the teacher, instead of making accusation, 
said quietly, ''Tom, this pencil was thrown against the wall an hour 
ago; I wondered whether you happen to know anything about 
it." The boy readily denied all knowledge of the matter and was 
dismissed ; nothing more was ever heard of the misdemeanor, and 
no more throwing occurred. The temptation to accuse the pupil 
of the deed and of the falsehood was very great but this would 
have thrown him out of his last year of schooling, which he used 
to great advantage. In this case the pupil's deed and ready false- 
hood were survivals of an earlier attitude which vanished after he 
grew accustomed to the new school environment. Give examples 
in which change of teacher or school wrought transformation in a 
child's school conduct. 

18. The following offenses must sometimes be reckoned with. 
Make a tabulation showing the probable instinctive origin of each, 
whether you would consider the offense always wrong or that its 
moral status depends upon circumstances, and show appropriate 
means which may be used in dealing with it. As an illustration 
take fighting, caused by rivalry, jealousy, or pugnacity ; sometimes 
right, sometimes wrong to fight ; isolate or segregate the aggressor 
unless he has been worsted in the encounter. 

Fighting, swearing, smoking, whispering, note writing, obscenity, 
cheating (copying other's work), lying, stealing, scuffling, teasing, 
vandalism, gambling, disobedience, whistling in classroom at in- 
termissions, giggling, dropping books. 

19. In the days of Jonathan Edwards it was not unusual to 
make such Hsts as the foregoing and catalog the evil spirits which 
prompted each action not in harmony with the purposes of the 
school. One writer listed several hundred such " devils ", as 
they were called. A modern writer, on the other hand, en- 
deavors to show a direct ratio between excessive schoolroom tem- 



138 The Work of the Teacher 

perature and lapses in discipline. What is the essential differ- 
ence between the theories concerning child nature ? 

20. To what extent would you regard each of the following 
considerations in measuring the effectiveness of punishment : — 
retribution, reform of the offender, approval of the offender, an 
example to the school, making the teacher feel better? 

21. After exhausting every ingenious resource without securing 
work upon the part of a stolid youth of sixteen, the teacher said to 
his father : " Have you anything for Don to do ? I have tried every 
plan I know to get him at some profitable school work and have 
failed. His deportment is not bad and he is not much in the way, 
but it seems a shame that he is accomplishing nothing for himself 
or for any one else." With a comprehending grin the father said, 
"I've wondered about that sometimes ; I never could get any work 
out of him. I'll let him drive the ice- wagon." 

Account for the presence of such children in school. Is it right 
to permit them to continue in school doing little or nothing when 
their services are greatly needed in the field of unskilled labor or 
in learning a trade? Give reasons for approving or condemning 
the course pursued by his teacher. 

Readings 

Bagley : Classroom Management, II, III, VII, VIII, XII. 

Bagley : School Discipline, especially IV-IX. 
Colvin : Introduction to High School Teaching, IV, V (Discipline). 
Morehouse : The Discipline of the School, IX, XII-XV. 
Perry : Discipline as a School Problem, XVII-XIX. 
Scott : Social Education, III-IV (School as monarchy and as re- 
public). 
Spencer: Ediication, 162-227 (Moral education). 



CHAPTER VI 

TEACHING — THE ASSIGNMENT 

The importance of instructional ability in teachers. The 

essential purpose of the school is characteristically realized 
in " instruction." Teaching, as the word is usually under- 
stood, indicates imparting information, building habits, or 
forming ideals through the direct efforts of the teacher in the 
use of subject matter. The teacher who is a good instructor 
is often successful in spite of many other shortcomings ; one 
who cannot instruct is a failure regardless of eminent social 
qualities, pleasing personality, or even thorough scholarship. 
Ability to instruct is the chief attainment which distinguishes 
the professional teacher from others in the community ; it is 
primarily because of this ability that society selects and sup- 
ports him. It is exceedingly unfortunate for any community 
in its employment of teachers to proceed upon the theory that 
a high degree of technical skill in classroom instruction is un- 
necessary or unimportant so long as pupils are in charge of 
good and intelligent persons. Great skill in the technique of 
instruction is absolutely required of every teacher if the school 
is to do its work well. Not every beginner can be an expert 
instructor, but no one preparing to teach should for a moment 
lose sight of the fact that skillful teaching is the distinguishing 
mark of every one who has a moral right to be in charge of a 
classroom. 

139 



I40 Tlie Work oj the Teacher 

Significance of terms — teaching, instruction, lesson. 

Since teaching and instruction are terms generally used and 
understood, in this and succeeding chapters no attempt will 
be made to limit their meaning, though instruction will be 
employed to denote teaching activity which looks toward 
building up knowledge, as contrasted with " drill," designed 
to establish habits. Another term used somewhat loosely 
in the popular sense is *' lesson," denoting many kinds of 
work in the teacher-pupil relationship. Teaching, instruc- 
tion, learning, and lessons are all convenient terms univer- 
sally employed and sufficiently definite in meaning to admit 
of no confusion in the mind of readers through failure to limit 
their application. 

Divisions of lesson — assignment, study, recitation. All 
teachers are familiar with the division of lessons into the steps 
of assignment, study, and recitation, and this conventional 
usage is followed here. Low standards of professional 
preparation and the consequent poor teaching in many parts 
of the country have given these terms in the minds of a large 
per cent of the school public a very definite though too formal 
and entirely inadequate significance. The conception of the 
recitation as a time for testing pupils upon what they have 
been able, unaided and unguided, to acquire from a text- 
book ; of study as preparation to meet such tests ; and of the 
assignment as a momentary though emphatic injunction to 
" take the next two pages," " ten words," or '* the next les- 
son " is responsible for much complacently bad teaching. 
It is hoped that a reading of the following pages will result in 
a broadened conception of these three tenns as well as increased 
proficiency in conducting each phase of class exercise. The 
fundamental point of view is that the class period should face 



Teaching — The Assignment 141 

forward instead of backward ; that emphasis should be upon 
what the pupil is about to study rather than what he has al- 
ready prepared ; and that teaching should replace much of 
testing. All this means that the assignment must be given 
a more prominent place than is usually accorded it. 

What the assignment must accomplish. The assignment 
includes teaching exercises which have for their chief purpose 
the setting of problems and giving directions and inspiration 
for lessons to be mastered or acquired by pupils. To realize 
its purpose the assignment must (a) show clearly what is to 
be done, (b) inspire pupils to perform tasks set before them, 
(c) direct attention to difficulties and point the way to over- 
coming them by giving suggestions as to use of aids and 
references, {d) show the organization of subject matter, in- 
cluding relationships not likely to be discovered by pupils, 
(e) place study material upon such a plane qualitatively and 
quantitatively as to meet the needs and abilities of the class. 
Each of these points will be briefly elaborated. 

I. The assignment shows clearly what is to be done. The 
assignment must show clearly what is to be done. It is incon- 
ceivable that good teachers should impose tasks upon pupils 
without perfect comprehension of what they are requiring. 
But assuming that this is true it signifies little compared to 
the requirement that the pupil shall also comprehend. The 
assignment is for the pupil ; what he understands is what the 
teacher has said, "You misunderstood my assignment" is 
a poor explanation even when one or two have honestly pre- 
pared the wrong lesson, and is no defense at all when the major- 
ity or all of a large class have followed mistaken directions. 
" Did I not tell you to copy the first series of words ? And 
now you have all copied the second ; why didn't you pay 



142 The Work of the Teacher 

attention?" The spirit of the reproved class should say, 
" No, teacher, you did not call for the first. Evidently there 
was something in your words or the entire setting when the 
task was imposed which made it reasonably clear that you 
expected the second rather than the first. Perhaps you can- 
not explain the misunderstanding, but if you are displeased 
with the fact that the wrong lesson or two or three wrong les- 
sons have been prepared, the displeasure should be with your 
own lack of clearness." " I didn't know what she wanted so 
I didn't study at all," is another result of an ambiguous assign- 
ment. The directions which leave the teacher's lips are of 
no importance when weighed against those which arrive in the 
mind of the pupil. To be obscure is to be misunderstood. 

Lack of clearness is often due to the hasty method of 
assigning tasks. If there is one part of the teacher's work 
which cannot be hurried it is the assignment. Only ignorance 
of good teaching can account for habitually deferring this 
vital exercise until inadequate time or suspense due to an ex- 
pected dismissal bell prevents its careful completion. In 
addition to taking sufficient time, using forethought and 
knowledge of pupils and having a carefully planned state- 
ment of what is to be done, it is usually well to ask a member 
of the class to repeat the assignment. If the outline of what is 
to be done is long, it should frequently be written. In no 
assignment is clearness more essential than in preparation for 
field-trips, excursions, demonstrations, or other forms of 
instruction which involve unaccustomed situations ; other- 
wise unusual and irrelevant elements yielding only incidental 
values dissipate all the pupils' energy, or the presence of a 
complex situation results in confusion. If references are 
given to children, they must be specific if definite results are 



Teaching — The Assignment 143 

expected. To specify pages and indicate what each reference 
contains is far better than to say, " There is something in this 
book or that chapter related to our lesson." As pupils be- 
come older, they are better able to find their own readings, 
and of course fragmentary reading in books loosely referred 
to has a general value ; but such activity should not be con- 
fused with study of a given lesson. 

2. The assignment must inspire performance. The assign- 
ment should inspire pupils with a desire to perform the task 
given. In the preceding paragraph responsibility for prep- 
aration of the wrong lesson was laid upon the teacher ; more 
numerous and more serious are the instances in which pupils 
make no adequate preparation, or even fail entirely to do the 
work assigned through failure to take seriously what has been 
given. No assignment, however clear, which does not carry 
with it sufficient motivation to insure vital and sustained 
attention to the matter in hand is effective. Subject matter 
which the pupil can immediately make use of in the problems 
of his daily life easily lends itself to interest-compelling assign- 
ment. A class told to write a real letter challenging another 
school to a contest, with the understanding that the best 
letter will be sent, needs no urging to do its best in letter- 
writing, though doubtless many pupils are wise enough to 
realize that their letters are not likely to be selected. Oc- 
casionally it is possible to utilize the subject matter of the 
assignment to meet an actual need growing out of the life of 
the pupil or school, and every wise teacher is alert to find 
such opportunities. 

In a much greater number of cases the so-called problem of 
the pupil is not one in which he is vitally interested, but, hav- 
ing accepted the project as part of the established school 



144 The Work of the Teacher 

requirement, he may be made to realize that many minor 
problems must be solved in achieving the end. Of this nature 
are most attempts to teach spelling or writing in immediate 
relation to cooking or sewing projects or the school garden. 
It is difficult to devise real situations in which good hand- 
writing or correct spelling seem essential, since a legible scrawl, 
incorrect spelling, and ungrammatical language are seldom 
misunderstood in such work ; it is probably safe to assert that 
motor and manual projects seldom present imperative needs 
for formal subjects; they do, however, afford opportunity 
for considerable practice of these arts in conversation — 
skillfully devised situations which wide awake teachers quickly 
turn to account. 

A degree less concrete but quite as effective with many 
children is the use of curiosity or the speculative interest in 
playing upon purely imaginary situations. Of this type 
usually are such questions as " How long would it take a 
picnic boat to fl.oat down a river?" Many questions in 
Hterature and history are of this type. " How would Robin- 
son Crusoe prepare to defend himself? " or " Would you have 
taken sides with George the Third or George Washington in 
the Revolutionary War? Why?" In such cases the pupil 
often identifies himself more or less dramatically with a 
situation remote from his own immediate interests but with 
as much zest as if the problem were one of his own little 
world. 

In the large number of cases in which school motives must 
be relied upon, practical psychology suggests endless oppor- 
tunities to utilize important capacities and interests, native 
and acquired, to avoid undue exercise of the teacher's fiat 
to insure performance of tasks assigned. Rivalry of in- 



Teaching — The Assignment 145 

dividuals and groups in contests, suggestion, and all the in- 
centives mentioned in the preceding chapter are available. 
And back of these forms of motivation, more or less external 
and not indispensable, is the general situation in which it is 
legitimate to assume that the teacher may command and 
pupils must obey. " You must get this lesson because I tell 
you to " rests upon the necessary relation of pupil and teacher 
but it is not wise to obtrude unnecessarily this undoubted 
authority. Without the general pressure of the school 
situation which presupposes that pupils will perform the tasks 
assigned, they would probably find most of the teacher's 
reasons for study quite unconvincing ; used consciously as 
the only means of motivation, commands are likely to be 
resented. 

Granting the pupil's willingness to perform his work, de- 
sire to accomplish must be accompanied by proper feeling 
tone, a confident sense of ability to do what is required. Great 
battles are won by soldiers who believe they can win ; the 
team which expects defeat is half defeated. The secret of 
the success of many otherwise not remarkable teachers is 
their ability to make pupils believe in themselves. 

3. The assignment should direct to difficulties and means of 
overcoming them. The assignment should direct attention to 
difficulties likely to be encountered and point the way to over- 
coming them, including directions for the use of such helps 
as are available. Careful recalling of one's own struggles as a 
pupil often revives the difficult situations with a child's point 
of view. Teaching experience soon show's that points obscure 
for one are obscure for another if classes instead of individuals 
are considered. Arithmetic textbooks used by many classes 
tell by their thumbed and dog-eared pages that the same 



146 The Work of the Teacher 

processes perplex nearly all. The same questions are asked 
by puzzled pupils of every school. So far as possible it is the 
business of the teacher to anticipate such difi&culties and, 
without removing need for effort, so direct that effort may suc- 
ceed. Nothing is gained by blind toil expended in trying to 
overcome meaningless obstacles. The number of questions 
asked by pupils has sometimes been assumed as one measure 
of interest ; questions of a certain type and needless incoherent 
appeals for help upon what should have been consistently 
clarified in the assignment are good evidence of poor teaching. 

Skillful analysis usually shows that the difficulties encountered 
by children in preparing lessons are specific and often very 
small elements of a large complex, all the rest of which is 
understood. As illustrations, the pupil who finds trouble in 
solving such examples as 4^ — 2^ may comprehend every 
step except that he must " borrow " from the integer in the 
minuend ; the entire significance of a poem may be lost owing 
to the presence of an unfamiliar word, or one to which a 
wrong meaning is attached as gambol in " the lambs gambol 
o'er the green.'''' As the pupil acquires ability to study inde- 
pendently, specific directions in the use of available helps 
become part of the assignment ; dictionaries, atlases, and 
encyclopedias often remain unconsulted because of vague un- 
certainty as to how they may be brought to bear upon a 
doubtful point. 

In addition to foreseeing obstacles and avoiding waste, the 
teacher can by skillful persistence develop in most children 
the custom of careful checking and " taking account of 
stock " when a seemingly impossible situation is met. " How 
much of this am I sure of?" "Which of these lines are 
correctly drawn?" and "Just what is the matter here?" 



Teaching — The Assignment 147 

The attitude represented by such questions is more effective 
in arriving at an understanding of problems and much better 
for the pupil's development than yielding to the panic impulse 
to try every expedient which suggests itself, however un- 
reasonable, or the discouraging utterance of a petulant, " I 
can't." Thus it is part of the assignment not alone to foresee 
and obviate needless obstacles, but also to foster a rational 
attitude which may enable the pupil to find specifically the 
source and nature of his own difficulties. 

4. The assignment should point to relationships not likely to 
he discovered by pupils. The assignment should direct at- 
tention to the organization of its subject matter, including 
peculiar relationships which may lead to greater facility in 
comprehending or fixing it in mind. Simple illustrations 
which seem so evident as to need no mention are the proces- 
sion of digits in the multiplication table as 9 X i =p, gX2=i8, 
9X3=27, in which the units' figure is successively 9, 8, 7, 6, 
. . . ; the use of derivatives in assigning a vocabulary, as 

navis — ship — suggests navy 
fabula — story — suggests fable 
liber — book — suggests library 

Most pupils are not ingenious in discovering such relation- 
ships ; it is not safe to assume such analytic ability, and the 
assignment can save waste for twenty-nine of a group by 
suggesting a relationship which would probably be dis- 
covered at once and unaided by the thirtieth member of the 
class. 

5. The assignment must place before pupils the proper amount 
of work. The assignment must be made with due regard to 
the advancement of the class. The amount of work which 



148 The Work of the Teacher 

pupils can accomplish is limited by the time at their disposal ; 
the quality or grade of work by previous experience and 
training. Inexperienced teachers, especially, are liable to 
make the mistake of expecting too much. Accustomed to 
their own standards or those of the school last attended, it is 
impossible for a time to realize that their pupils are working 
most diligently but upon a lower level. Assignment of too 
much work develops an attitude of indifference upon the part 
of pupils and soon deprives the teacher of power to secure com- 
pletion of even a reasonable amount of work ; requiring the 
impossible convinces a few pupils that all requirements may 
after all be unimportant. Another bad consequence of as- 
signing too much is the encouragement it lends to hasty, 
skimped, or poorly done work. Before making assignments 
the teacher should know accurately how much time the pupil 
has and how fast he can work without uneconomical haste. 
By being sure how many lines a pupil can copy in a minute 
or how long he will need in solving a problem of a given type 
and the answers to other similar questions the teacher should 
be able to avoid the waste of excessive assignments. 

Assigning work which is qualitatively wrong, that is, too 
simple or too difficult, is the cause of as much waste as at- 
tempting to require too much. If work is too elementary, the 
attitude of the class is usually a means of enlightenment to the 
teacher, though of course not infallible. " We've had that," 
" They study that down in the fourth grade," and similar 
expressions are familiar to every teacher who has had occa- 
sion to give belated instruction in necessary subject matter 
which has been omitted or badly taught. Resourceful teach- 
ing can nearly always avoid offending juvenile pride by pre- 
senting such matter plainly named as belonging in a lower 



Teaching — The Assignment 149 

grade. If a pupil has erroneously formed the opinion that 
work is too simple, a few lessons should convince him of his 
mistaken notion ; if material is actually too elementary, the 
teacher should make the discovery quickly. It is the bright 
pupil with nothing to engage his time who constitutes our 
greatest problem of wasted energy. 

The effect of assigning too difficult work is much the same 
as that of requiring too much. This question is later dis- 
cussed in relation to home study; here it may be said that 
the teacher must be constantly putting to himself such ques- 
tions as : " Has previous work prepared for this ? Can the 
pupil read his arithmetic problems, or pronounce the words of 
his spelling list? Does he understand directions for a home 
experiment? How do / know he can? " All such questions 
should be answered satisfactorily before the assignment is 
completed. To request or command a pupil to perform 
what is impossible for him is excessively bad for his study 
habits and damaging to his general moral attitudes. 

Questions relating to the mode of assigning lessons, i. 
Place of the assignment in class period. Should the assign- 
ment precede or follow the recitation ; occur at the beginning 
or the close of the class period? For small children with 
whom study directions are not long remembered it should 
come last. With all others much is gained by giving first 
all technical directions for preparing the next lesson. Such 
procedure assures an abundance of time and, in a sense, places 
a class upon its honor by assuming that the lesson of the day 
has been mastered. It is seldom necessary to reassign, and 
the moral influence of taking prepared lessons for granted is 
worth enough to compensate for occasional readjustments 
when this proves not to have been the case. 



150 The Work of the Teacher 

2. Time required to make assignment. How much time 
should be given to the assignment? Generally speaking, a 
great deal more than most teachers devote to it. It is better 
to think of the assignment as a phase of instruction rather 
than a daily part of a class exercise ; it may require a moment 
or the entire period. With many teachers a complete lesson 
of one hour including assignment, study, and recitation would 
be divided about as follows : 

I. Recitation on previously assigned work . . 25 min. 

II. Assignment 5 min. 

III. Study 30 min. 

Better teaching would result if the division of time could ap- 
proximate : 

I. Quiz— questions upon previous assignment, 5 to 10 min. 

II. Recitation, including assignment . . 20 to 25 min. 

III. Study 30 min. 

Both time divisions accept the usual situation of a reciting 
and a studying class in the room at the same time. The 
second differs from the first in giving more attention to the 
lesson which is to be studied and less to the one which has 
been prepared. Past effort must be thoroughly tested, but 
five or ten minutes of sharp, well-organized questioning should 
be suflacient for the purpose if careful planning for this quiz- 
zing exercise has been made. With the greater part of the 
teaching period directed forward rather than backward much 
of the waste usually associated with the study period should 
be eliminated. Such a distribution of time should help to 
turn " quizzers " into teachers. 



Teaching — The Assignment 151 

3. Individual assignments. To what extent can individual 
assignments be used with profit ? Individual assignments may- 
indicate weakness in teaching, as when after repeated failures 
to secure serious preparation of lessons the teacher, with a 
desperate appeal, gives each member of the class a fragment 
of the lesson all should learn ; such teaching is often exhibited 
in history classes if the teacher has failed to excite interest 
in the subject or is weak in organization. The individual 
assignment may, however, indicate skillful teaching when 
made a means of meeting needs of an atypical pupil or part 
of a socialized school exercise to which several contribute. 
Special reading or arithmetic exercises for the pupil who has 
been absent or who meets unusual difficulties are examples 
of provision for individual cases. Some of the most vitalized 
reading exercises are those in which each has prepared an as- 
signment entirely unfamiliar to other members of the class and 
reads it aloud. 

It cannot have escaped the reader that many of the topics 
treated in this chapter are inseparable from consideration of 
the study period. A well-spent study hour is hardly possible 
unless it follows an assignment that accomplishes the purpose 
which have been set forth. After discussion of the recitation 
important practical phases of study itself will be considered. 



Exercises 

I. What is the meaning of the expression occasionally heard, 
"He is a good teacher though he cannot teach very well"? Of 
what other professions are similar remarks made? How do you 
account for the fact that technical skill is sometimes not considered 
necessary for teachers? 



152 The Work of the Teacher 

2. What reasons can you give for preferring either of these forms 
of assignment ? 

(a) " To-day / wa«/ 3'OM to prepare ..." 
{b) "To-day our work is to prepare ..." 

3. Make a study of teachers' assignments for the purpose of 
discovering waste due to 

(a) unnecessary copying of questions by pupils or teacher. 

{b) allotting tasks which pupils are unable to perform, 

(c) giving the assignment after the class has been dismissed. 

4. Write an assignment of the following lessons : 
(a) Ten examples in addition (third grade). 

{b) A reading lesson (fourth grade). 

(c) Three stanzas of poetry to be memorized (fifth grade). 
{d) A spelling lesson for sixth grade using these words : 
independent, government, honorable, governor, national 
(e) Lesson in map study of the United States (seventh grade). 

5. In assigning lessons the aim as stated for pupils may differ 
in form from that which is used by the teacher in his own thinking. 
It should usually be more direct and concrete. In each of the 
lesson assignments of the preceding question formulate aims which 
might appeal to pupils. 

6. Division of subject matter according to the number of days 
allotted for its completion becomes an important part of every 
teacher's work unless the course of study is so minutely prescrip- 
tive that each day's material is indicated. Using textbooks, 
outline lessons in spelling, arithmetic, language, or geography by 
days for a week or a month. 

7. Pupils of peculiar temperament are sometimes unnerved or 
made to work under undue tension by fixed assignments such as 
"Solve the next ten examples" or "Answer ten questions." What 
would be the effect of making assignments like the following: 
"Solve about eight or ten of the examples on the next page." 
"Choose three fourths of the questions in this list." 



Teaching — The Assignment 153 

8. A teacher who was conscious of being weak in power of im- 
pression seized upon the assignment as an opportunity to impress 
pupils with the thought that he was "deep" by use of large words 
and obscurely long sentences. What is the effect of such assign- 
ments? 

Readings 

Bagley : School Discipline, VI (Individual assignments). 

Charters : Methods of Teaching, XVIII. 

Colgrove : The Teacher and the School, XDC. 

Colvin : Introduction to High School Teaching, 236-243. 



^ CHAPTER VII 

TEACHING — THE RECITATION 

No teaching without learning. The recitation — the cen- 
tral activity of the school — includes the exercises in which 
the teacher as instructor and pupils as a class take active part : 
the former instructing, telling, repeating, emphasizing, or 
quizzing; the latter learning, inquiring, settling doubts, and 
reorganizing experience. The terminal parties are the teacher 
and the learner, both working in inert subject matter which 
must be made to glow with life if the exercise is to be worth its 
time. It should be realized at the outset that the learner no 
less than the teacher is active ; to speak of the teacher and the 
taught is misleading, since it suggests passivity of one of the 
indispensable persons in the teaching process. If pupils 
merely tolerate the teacher's efforts, making no exertion them- 
selves, there is no learning and accordingly no teaching. It is 
a case in which there can be no object without an indirect 
object ; no one can teach arithmetic or geography without 
teaching it to some one who is actively learning. 

All this seems evident enough, but many teachers prove by 
declaiming at or over an inattentive, indifferent class that 
they have not taken this lesson seriously to heart, though all 
such effort is quite idle. It is with this understanding con- 
stantly in mind that the chapter should be read ; no teaching 
without learning, no learning without activity of the learner, 

154 



Teaching — The Recitation 155 

and the learning alone measures the teaching. " I think we 
may say that methods of teaching are good just in the degree 
that they make the student (pupil) a partner in the enter- 
prise of learning." ^ 

The purpose of the recitation, i . A ims of pupil and teacher. 
As indicated in the preceding paragraph, the purpose of the 
recitation must be stated from the standpoint of both pupil 
and teacher. The probable mental attitude of the pupil, 
trivial though it may seem, cannot be ignored ; he may desire 
to puzzle the teacher, defeat or outshine a rival, atone for 
previous insufficiencies of preparation, impress the teacher, 
" show off," or be genuinely and ardently desirous of finding 
out about an interesting subject ; on the other hand, he may 
not look forward to the recitation with any clearly defined 
aims. The teacher is more likely to have definite purposes ; 
to explain or help over difficulties, to tell or describe to pupils, 
to organize, emphasize, and fix, to test or quiz with the pur- 
pose of revealing equally the weakness of previous teaching 
and pupils' preparation, to build up the confidence of the 
timid, convince the unprepared of his unreadiness, or even 
occasionally to puncture inflated self-esteem. • ' 

2. Aims determined by nature of work. Though the teach- 
er's purposes may thus be particularized indefinitely they are 
briefly stated, as determined by the function to be accom- 
plished, as (i) instructing, (2) testing, (3) drilflng, (4) guiding 
appreciation and enjoyment. In practice these cannot be 
consistently separated, but they are better studied if rather 
sharply distinguished in discussion. It is also important that 
every teacher should be able at a given moment to determine 
which of these four aims he is seeking to achieve ; knowing 
1 Moore : What is Education, 227. 



156 The Work of the Teacher 

what his purpose is, he has a standard for measuring every 
means or device employed. 

Essential conditions for effective recitation. Since the 
recitation is the central activity of the distinctive work of the 
teacher, conditions for its fullest success must be provided and 
maintained. For convenience of discussion essential requi- 
sites may be briefly analyzed into (i) knowing the subject, 
(2) knowing the pupil, (3) preserving proper external condi- 
tions, and (4) use of skill in the technique of teaching. Since 
the first three of these are discussed elsewhere, they will here 
receive only brief treatment concerning their direct relation- 
ship to class teaching, leaving the body of the chapter to the 
fourth. 

I. The teacher must know the subjects taught. The greatest 
single handicap upon the usefulness of most teachers is their 
very limited knowledge of subject matter. Thousands teach 
United States history who have had only an eighth-grade 
course ; they can hardly be expected to command respect for 
the subject or to give their pupils appreciation of the mean- 
ing of American democracy. Just as many are trying to teach 
geography who have never read geographical material more 
advanced than what is contained in the ordinary two-book 
series. Since no one can teach quite all he knows, such per- 
sons must teach textbooks rather than history or geography. 
They cannot communicate a point of view not possessed by 
themselves. But aside from the evident need of more ade- 
quate knowledge of the branches they teach, those who in- 
struct must know specifically and with recency of acquaintance 
the material as presented in textbooks and helps in the hands 
of pupils. 

Only by thorough daily preparation can a teacher meet this 



Teaching — The Recitation 157 

requirement. The one-book teacher should at least know 
thoroughly his one book ; the teacher with wider preparation 
can utilize his store of material fully only by a planned study 
of the pupil's textbook line by line. Many a well-trained but 
overconfident young teacher has come to grief by trusting to 
a superior general knowledge which failed to explairujembar- 
rassing minor points treated in the pupil's elementary but too 
specific textbook. Merely understanding the content of text- 
books is only a fraction of the purpose of daily preparation, 
but it may not be safely ignored. The confident bearing of 
the instructor who knows his field and what part of it his 
pupils have been able to explore, and feels reasonably sure of 
his ability to answer related questions, is a pledge of successful 
recitation work. 

2. The teacher must know the pupils, a. Why teachers find it 
difficult to understand pupils. Adequate knowledge comes 
only with long and intimate association as well as careful 
attention to all that psychology and child study have to offer. 
One human being can know another only by analogy ; we are 
often mistaken in reading into another's actions our own 
thoughts and feelings. " How does the teacher know the 
child he is teaching in the recitation? " Largely by thinking 
back in his own experience to the point at which he fancies he 
was in about the same stage of development as the boy who 
sits on the third seat of the fourth row. Such introspectively 
derived judgments are open to numerous objections. Teach- 
ers forget the mountainous aspect which .forgotten difficulties 
once assumed ; obviously women teachers are unable by 
such means to recall the attitudes of boyhood. Again the 
fact that the home environment and living standards of the 
social class from which teachers are principally selected dif- 



158 The Work of the Teacher 

fer from those of many children in school causes the attitudes 
and standards of each to appear strange to the other. Even 
though chosen from exactly the same social or economic 
level, teachers are nevertheless a peculiar group, selected 
because of their intellectual interests which caused them 
to persevere in book or bookish work while their equally 
capable comrades chose pursuits more to their liking in other 
fields. 

h. Expecting too much of pupils. Because of failure to know 
pupils thoroughly assumptions are made which prove ex- 
ceedingly wasteful in teaching. Inexperienced teachers gen- 
erally presuppose acquisitive ability and a store of knowledge 
entirely beyond what their pupils possess. " Every one knows 
that " and " I always knew that " are expressions charac- 
teristic of the teachers' attitudes regarding accomplishments 
which seem so evident, but which represent, nevertheless, a 
comparatively advanced stage of development. Knowledge 
of colors, discrimination of musical tones, appreciation of 
periods of time, or even the most familiar terms used to express 
time are later in developing than some teachers suppose. 
"When did you wash your face? " " Last summer," seri- 
ously replies the four-year-old who has a little-developed time 
sense, and there are many intellectual four-year-olds in 
classes which talk about dates " a hundred years ago," " in 
the last century," and " between 181 2 and 1820." A natural 
result of not knowing pupils thoroughly is that beginners fre- 
quently teach " over their heads." 

c. Presupposing adult emotions in children. Emotions and 
ideals being presupposed before they are developed lead to 
ludicrous answers to grown-up questions. Of this the joke 
columns of most periodicals furnish ample illustration. The 



Teaching — The Recitation 1 59 

accompanying is typical, showing distinctly the different level 
of pupil and teacher. 

Wishing to reenforce her presentation of the fidelity of Daniel 
a Sunday school teacher secured a highly colored picture exhibit- 
ing a row of threatening lions ready to devour the prophet, a baby 
lion in the foreground with aspect as savage as the most terrible. 
A pupil burst into tears ; the teacher, surprised but slightly grati- 
fied by the success of her impressive device, said, "Wasn't Daniel 
brave and good ? " The tearful child upon whom the higher lesson 
was lost replied, " Maybe ; but what I am afraid of is that the little 
lion won't get any of him." 

d. Importance of immediate set or attitude. Not only must 
the teacher know the limits of capacities and interests, but the 
immediate attitude or connection which may be suggested by 
a statement or question. Every teacher of experience has 
elicited answers which were unexpected ; most of the surpris- 
ing situations of classroom instruction arise from the impos- 
sibility of knowing what is in the pupil's mind, how he will 
interpret new situations, or what meanings new words may 
have for him. If one endeavors to explain the following 
examples, he at once becomes conscious of the entirely natural 
and rational character of each unlooked-for answer when 
considered from the pupil's viewpoint. 

{a) Wishing to show the growth -of population in the District of 
Columbia a teacher said, "Children, in 1794 George Washington 
killed a deer in the District of Columbia ; he couldn't do that now ; 
why not?" "Because he's dead," answered a pupil irrefutably. 

{h) "Algebraic symbols are used to denote unknown quantities," 
becomes "Algebraic symbols are what you use when you don't 
know what you're talking about." 



i6o The Work of the Teacher 

(c) "The blue heron has no tail to speak of" comes back "The 
blue heron has a tail which must not be talked about." 



All such answers are seen to be inevitable and correct from 
the pupil's background ; the meaning in the thought of the 
teacher is not the one possible for him since his total mental 
condition secures a different significance for the same words. 

e. Fixed expectation according to grade the result of experi- 
ence. As was remarked, beginning teachers are likely to in- 
struct above the comprehension of their pupils. Teachers of 
experience are less prone to this mistake, but they frequently 
form somewhat rigid standards of what they expect pupils of 
a given age or grade to know, and fail to discover the excep- 
tional case who is precocious or advanced in certain subjects. 
It is an unusual pupil who knows the multiplication table 
thoroughly when he enters the second grade, but the teacher 
who keeps such a pupil upon the abacus three months is not 
very wide awake. The same tendency to assume a given 
mental level upon which to teach is seen in the elementary 
teacher transferred to a high school position after many years 
of successful experience. Nothing less than unusual ability 
combined with vigilant determination to make one's teaching 
self over completely can insure success in the new position. 

3. External conditions necessary for the recitation, a. Ef- 
fective seating. External conditions must be right. In addi- 
tion to those of general nature discussed in an earlier chapter 
a few are peculiarly close in their relation to the recitation. 
Effective arrangement of seating is one of these. If it is im- 
possible to give those who recite together seats in the same 
section of the room, provision should at least be made to seat 
them in compact order while conducting the recitation. No 



Teaching — The Recitation i6i 

one can do vital teaching if his scattered class is interspersed 
with pupils studying. Only by strenuous efforts can such 
pupils continue to study, and the teacher finds it hard to treat 
them as within the class but not of it. Even when properly 
grouped, it is difficult to give due attention to all ; when the 
seating arrangement is straggling or irregular, some are sure 
to be neglected. In the many-graded one-room school the 
" recitation bench," though not always essential, is an eco- 
nomical expedient, since it groups the reciting class and re- 
moves from its midst those doing seat work, who study 
better because of this segregation. 

b. Freedom from intrusions. A second external is that of 
taking precaution against unnecessary interruptions during 
recitation. Some one should formulate a teacher's maxim 
similar to " An Englishman's house is his castle," to empha- 
size the fact that the recitation must be free from intrusion — 
that class and teacher in recitation are in the holy of holies, 
which no disturbing foot should be allowed to profane. So 
seriously are interruptions viewed in some countries that fines 
are imposed upon those who enter or visit a classroom during 
instruction periods. Supervisors and other school officers 
are occasionally less careful than might be expected in this 
respect ; returning to secure an overlooked book or pencil 
or to add a few suggestions to the teacher is not less dis- 
tracting because of its being an official interruption. By far 
the most of such useless waste is that which teachers permit from 
the members of classes not reciting; in its most aggravated 
form, perhaps, this waste occurs in rural schools where recita- 
tion time is of necessity the shortest. Every such deflection 
of interest from the business in hand, if preventable, is a mark 
of inefi&cient precaution or control on the part of the teacher. 



1 62 The Work of the Teacher 

Seldom is the question of a pupil not in the reciting group so 
urgent that it cannot await the close of the recitation period. 

4. Skill in the technique of teaching, a. Organization of 
subject matter, (i) Logical and psychological order. Proper 
organization of subject matter is a prime requisite of effective 
teaching. In this connection so much has been written of the 
necessity of adopting the psychological rather than the logical 
order that some teachers seem to be half ashamed of a lesson 
plan which has systematic and consistent arrangement. In 
any choice between a logical and an illogical organization there 
can be no difficulty, for incoherent or wrongly arranged 
material causes present confusion and inconsistent mental 
action in the future. 

What, in brief, do the terms " logical " and " psychological " 
mean? Logical means reasonable, the first being placed 
first, the most important receiving greatest emphasis, the 
whole being so arranged that elements of equal rank are coor- 
dinated ; all must be systematically combined so as to permit 
no inconsistencies or contradictions, and expressed in words 
which have the same meaning to those who are using them. 

Psychological order is simply that which meets the plane 
of the child's experience ; it must conform to his logic. The 
normal child's mind acts logically enough ; it experiences no 
difficulty in drawing conclusions which because of their un- 
erring directness sometimes shock and at others amuse his 
elders. The child who says " runned " or " sinked " reasons 
consistently ; so does the one who spells c-o-f-f or t-u-f-f be- 
cause of o-f-f or m-u-f-f ; and according to the child's sense- 
hungry appetite the hero who denies himself a good meal is 
incomparably greater than the one who rules his spirit in a 
moral crisis. 



Teaching — The Recitation 163 

So far as the child has the required experience his conclu- 
sions are the same as ours. For the pupil whose mind works 
inconsistently, inconstantly, — in other words illogically, — 
there is little hope ; if experience only is lacking, the school 
can in time bring him to the plane of well-ordered thinking. 
Even the term " logical " proves itself a variable and indefinite 
goal ; what is logical to an expert sometimes makes no appeal 
to the layman. The expert, on the other hand, may say of 
adult but unprofessional knowledge, " With his limited ac- 
quaintance in the field that doubtless seems logical," much 
as the wise teacher understands and respects the immature, 
inconsistent attitudes and expressions of pupils. 

Thus it appears that psychological arrangement is not op- 
posed to logical ; it may be and very often is the same, and 
it is but occasionally that violence must be done to logical 
presentation in order to psychologize it. In organizing lesson 
material one of these ideas goes further than the other but does 
not contradict it. The maker of a good textbook may ap- 
proximate the normal child's logical order in his treatment; 
the teacher must reorganize to meet the needs of a class or 
pupil. Only the psychological can be taught, but this is a 
variable which approaches that other variable " logical " 
with which most teachers are better but not too well- ac- 
quainted. 

(2) Indtictive development, (a) Nature of inductive exer- 
cises. The most widely applicable method of organizing sub- 
ject matter is known as development, or the development 
lesson. Formal and inadequate comprehension of the Her- 
bartian steps of development has led to confusion and dis- 
gust, even with regard to what has real value in the method. 
The principal cause of misunderstanding may be indicated in 



164 The Work of the Teacher 

the difference between the terms " development " and " de- 
velopment lesson." The latter suggests an exercise limited 
to a single class period ; the former indicates a process which 
may be progressive and continued, reaching its goal within a 
few minutes or requiring hours or weeks. The measure of 
development is not an interval of time, but the accomplish- 
ment of a unit of subject matter, sometimes called a " method 
whole " ; it is a unit of thought ending in a generalization or 
conclusion and its application. A second cause of confusion 
is the attempt to separate the steps of the process too sharply 
from each other, as if sequentially related in time. Teaching 
and learning are too complicated to yield themselves to 
such analysis unless the student realizes that what he is 
dissecting is different from the result of combining the 
parts which his study finds distinctly revealed. With these 
cautions kept in mind while reading the following para- 
graphs the steps of inductive development should not be 
misunderstood. 

(6) Steps of development. Inductive development lessons 
include five steps: preparation, presentation, comparison, 
generalization, application. The fourth step, generalization, 
represents the goal of instruction in an inductive lesson ; 
this may be a principle, rule, concept, or process which it is 
the purpose of the lesson to develop. The teacher must know 
clearly what this generalization is to be before the aim of the 
lesson can be formulated ; granting this knowledge, which the 
teacher may propose as some form of problem, either during 
or after the first step, the essential stages may be outlined in 
the following manner: 

Preparation. This includes all data which bear upon what 
is to be presented ; it may involve experience extending over 



Teaching — The Recitation 165 

years as well as the small amount of material consciously 
revived by the teacher. 

Presentation. The particulars of new experience are given ; 
telling or reading of facts previously unknown, a new process 
or demonstration. 

Comparison brings out essentials and general relations 
from what is previously known and what has been presented 
in the second step. Evidently this step begins simultaneously 
with the preceding and is quite inseparable from it and from 
the one which follows. 

Generalization. As previously stated, this is the goal at 
which inductive development aims; the meaning, attitude, 
concept, law, principle, definition, or process determines all 
the teacher's procedure which is to lead to it ; once formed, it 
is used in interpreting all succeeding experience, which thus 
makes it the beginning of deductive activity. For example, 
as soon as a pupil has formed the general notion of " triangle " 
he says of certain figures, " These are triangular or triangles " ; 
when he has acquired the law of the road, he turns to the right. 

Application. This step consists in using the newly formu- 
lated generalization. It extends indefinitely into the future, 
but begins with application exercises given by the teacher, 
such as parsing, or arithmetic examples involving no new 
principles. 

Only occasionally can the teacher be clearly conscious of 
the inductive process in arriving at generalizations. In writ- 
ing a lesson plan the steps are often best left undifferentiated 
except that the generalization (aim) must be clearly stated 
with the recognition that the entire movement is directed 
toward its realization. In the accompanying outline of a 
development lesson all steps are mentioned with suggestions 



i66 The Work of the Teacher 

concerning the kind of procedure which would characterize 
each step. In practice the teacher would probably omit 
writing out the first step, though of course use the experiences 
there indicated. Likewise the third step would probably be 
taken with the presentation. 

Preparation — all previous number experience, especially short 

division. 
Presentation — several simple typical examples in long division 
solved by teacher and class, e.g. 2321 -j-21 = 

624-5-24 = 
255-15 = 
Comparison — examination during the preceding solutions of what 
was done and reasons for each step, discovery of relationships, 
and operations common to each case. E.g. How was the first 
quotient figure found? What was the next step after multi- 
plication ? 
Generalization — in this case the process itself is the generaliza- 
tion ; memorizing a rule for long division would be nonsense, 
but after the work has been carefully examined in the presenta- 
tion and comparison and the fact brought out that the steps 
of division, multiplication, subtraction, and annexing the next 
dividend figure follow each other in unvarying succession, this 
part of the generalization may with good economy be learned 
as a sequence — divide, multiply, subtract, annex. 
Application — many practice exercises to fix the process ; examples 
and problems involving use of long division, 
(c) Suggestions for writing a lesson plan. i. Determine what 
generalization is to be the result of the lesson. This makes clear 
the aim which must be clearly in the mind of the teacher. 

2. With this in view survey the pupil's experience to determine 
what relevant material in his possession must be used to under- 
stand the new lesson. Provision should be made to revive any of 
this which may have been forgotten. 



Teaching — The Recitation 167 

3. Make a brief outline of the subject. 

4. Think of the form in which pupils will acquire each main 
point. 

5. Formulate pivotal questions to "bring" these important 
answers. (Discussed under "Questioning.") 

6. Since pupils are unlikely to make exactly the expected re- 
sponse, think of other answers they may give and of misunder- 
standings likely to ensue ; make plans by means of skillful telling 
and minor questions to lead from incomplete or inaccurate under- 
standings to correct statements. 

7. Summarize important points. This may be required several 
times. Each summary may be an important generalization, or a 
final summary may include all the preceding. 

8. Provide for application of what has been learned. 

In planning many lessons not all of these directions can 
be followed ; those from the third to the seventh can usually 
be employed. 

(3) The deductive lesson. The deductive method is a means 
of interpreting experience through the generalizations found 
by induction. As stated for teachers planning lessons it 
consists of four parts : 

(a) The generalizations of preceding experiences. 

{b) A new situation or problem, including such data bear- 
ing upon it as may be assembled. 

(c) Inference, 

(d) Verification. 

In all school exercises in which classifications are made by^ 
means of definitions or other general notions, deduction is 
employed. " Select the complex sentences in lesson three," 
" Parse the nouns," " Write all the prime numbers," are 
exercises in deductive reasoning. In each case the pupil 



1 68 The Work of the Teacher 

starts with a concept or definition ; using this he classifies 
each case, at first on trial ; then by means of other general no- 
tions verifies to his own satisfaction the classification he has 
made. In the accompanying case the steps of a deductive 
solution may be readily perceived. 

Factor jc^ + 6 » — 16. 

{i) Generalizations already familiar. 

Idea of binomial factors of a perfect square, e.g. {x + y){x-\-y). 

Idea of binomial factors of quantity not a perfect square, e.g. 

{x^-a){x+h). 

Idea of monomial factor of a quantity, e.g. x{x+y). 

(ii) The problem — factor ir^ + 6 x — 16. 

(m) Inference — applying generalizations until correct one is 
found. The idea of monomial factor would soon be given up 
if considered at all ; since the first and third terms are perfect 
squares, a beginner might try {x — 4)(x—4). When this in- 
ference failed, either (x — 8)(x — 2) or {x — 8)(x-\-2) might still 
be tried because of some ill-defined influence of the minus sign 
before the i6, or the correct solution might be found, (x — 2) 
(x + 8). 

(iv) Verification. Prove by multiplying them together that 
{x — 2) (::c -f-8) are the factors sought. It is easy to observe that 
each i^icorrect inference was checked by an attempt at veri- 
fying it, the third and fourth steps being thus practically in- 
separable. 

b. Use of means appropriate to the type of lesson. Con- 
sidering their aims, most recitation exercises can be reduced to 
one of the four types mentioned at the beginning of this 
chapter. Appropriate measures for making each of these 
effective will next be discussed. It may be repeated that 
lessons exclusively of any single type are seldom found ; test- 



Teaching — The Recitation 169 

ing, instruction, drill, and appreciation are inseparably in- 
terwoven, but at any moment the teacher should know which 
of these is dominant. 

(i) Testing. Testing is primarily directed toward secur- 
ing information concerning the success and thoroughness of the 
pupil's preparation ; it should not stop with this, but should 
also be regarded by the teacher as a means of discovering the 
value of methods used in presentation. It has been insisted 
that teachers usually spend too much time in the testing phase 
of the recitation, but it carmot be omitted ; testing should be 
done more economically but not less thoroughly. 

(i) Inadequate means used in testing should not supersede 
questioning. " How many understand the lesson? " is not a 
satisfactory testing device for all occasions. Those most in 
doubt may be reluctant to confess ; the pupil's standard of 
understanding may be neither intelligent nor exacting. " How 
many solved all the problems? " or " Who had any trouble 
with the lesson? " are likewise formal or indefinite ; the veriest 
loafer who has not given his lesson a thought can blandly 
assert that the lesson has caused him no trouble. Depending 
entirely upon papers handed in to determine a pupil's stand- 
ing is uncertain procedure since the work may have been done 
by parents. Sending a class of pupils to the blackboard to 
test all by the same exercise is also unsatisfactory, as a con- 
siderable per cent will intentionally or half accidentally copy 
their neighbors' work. Though all of these devices have 
value, nothing should be allowed to supplant keen and care- 
fully planned questioning which for most phases of school work 
is the most effective means of testing in the recitation. 

{ii) Testing reflects upon the teacher's work. Inquiry con- 
cerning reasons for failure to make preparation is sometimes 



170 The Work of the Teacher 

as necessary as testing the preparation itself. The half-de- 
lighted expression of countenance which says, " There, I 
caught you ; I didn't expect you to know that lesson," or the 
vengeful, " Take the same lesson again," are petulant and 
superficial ways of avoiding the real difficulty. The reason 
why the lesson has not been taken seriously may point ac- 
cusingly to the teacher's assignment or manner and suggest 
changes which will insure better work in the future ; it may 
reveal wasteful study procedure which the teacher could 
improve. 

(2) Instructing. Instruction has for its purpose present- 
ing new knowledge or experience. It requires the use of all 
methods ; no matter how much good material is found in 
textbooks it will need to be supplemented and reorganized ; 
wrong impressions develop, and these the recitation must cor- 
rect. In accomplishing its many-sided purpose instruction 
chiefly uses questions and answers, topics, telling or lecturing, 
and the written lesson. The first of these is so important in 
lessons of all kinds that it will be given additional treatment 
in a section of its own. (See Questioning.) 

{i) Question and answer instruction. The question and 
answer mode of instruction as usually conducted is open to 
the objection that it breaks subject matter into small, dis- 
jointed bits with little sequence or organization. The ex- 
clusive use of the method lends itself very easily to this de- 
fect, but careful planning to insure development of important 
generalizations and emphasis of essential points may obviate 
the difficulty. Teachers who depend upon the inspiration of 
a class situation to formulate questions are unlikely to pre- 
serve an ordered sequence ; few are clear enough in their own 
thinking to be sure of themselves, and the force of digressive 



Teaching — The Recitation 171 

interest is usually sufficient to wreck any preconcerted serial 
arrangement of questions unless they rest upon a fundamental 
knowledge of subject matter in all its relations. 

Without this acquaintance with what is being presented, 
question sequences written in lesson plans and memorized 
break down ; added to such careful preparation, they are 
a fine guide for the beginning teacher. Without planned 
questioning the teacher with the most thorough knowledge is 
likely to leave pupils' acquaintance with subject matter form- 
less and void, though of course no one can follow a rigid 
sequence of pre-formed questions. 

(w) The topical method. The topical method, by which 
instruction proceeds through a series of related topics which 
are part of an outline, depends for its continuity upon the 
care with which the outline itself has been organized. Lack- 
ing the too momentary impelling force of the question-and- 
answer plan, it depends for motivation more upon the skill 
with which the individual topics are selected and the wording 
given them. If erratic or capricious in arrangement, such a 
recitation diflfers chiefly from the ordinary quiz in the length 
of topics and lack of interest ; if well selected and framed, 
this method is an excellent device to secure sustained efifort. 
Its use can profitably be increased with progress through the 
grades. 

The topical method lends itself to peculiar abuses. In- 
dividual assignment of bits of subject matter (which all should 
learn if pupils are to have more than fragmentary comprehen- 
sion of what is taught) has been mentioned as a weakness of 
teachers unable to secure preparation by other means. An- 
other form of poor economy often associated with the use of 
the blackboard is to apportion to each pupil a topic from the 



172 The Work of the Teacher 

lesson he has prepared, asking him to write all he knows about 
it. With abundant time this, as an occasional device, has 
great value ; too often it happens, especially in rural schools, 
that the writing consumes so much time as to leave none for 
discussion and correction of what has been written. Many 
pupils hear day after day, " That will do ; erase," when the 
teacher has hardly if at all looked at their work. In cases of 
short-class periods, pupils should be started upon the written 
work of their topics before the recitation proper begins ; the 
class discussion of what has been written is surely worth more 
than the writing itself. 

(m) The telling method. The telling method, called lectur- 
ing when used with mature students, is of great value in all 
grades of instruction. Usually this method is combined with 
questions and answers, the teacher supplementing the con- 
tributions of pupils and adding material which they could not 
otherwise acquire ; it is certainly superior teaching economy to 
tell pupils outright rather than to waste time in guessing 
exercises based upon material which cannot be developed 
out of ignorance. Because of the tendency of nearly all in- 
structors to talk too much a great deal has been said 
against this mode of presentation. Long lectures are of 
course out of place in teaching children, but one exceed- 
ingly valuable endowment of any teacher is ability to talk 
well in explanation or in exposition and illustration. A 
teacher who is slow of speech or an uninteresting talker is 
handicapped ; he should impose upon himself the task of 
acquiring movement, force, directness, and pleasing manner, 
at least in all class work. He should regard no lesson as 
adequately prepared until every probable needed explana- 
tion can be given promptly in clear and correct English, 



Teaching — The Recitation 173 

without hesitation or confusion, and spoken so well that 
pupils willingly listen. 

To accomplish this, it may be necessary to rehearse some 
of these lesson speeches several times as if to the class. If 
the recitation period is to be thirty minutes in length, the 
teacher should be prepared to speak well upon the subject 
of the lesson during thirty minutes — and then of course 
talk very much less. While pupils should occupy a large part 
of the time, this should be for their own development and not 
merely because the teacher has nothing to say, which ap- 
parently is the reason for forcing pupils to contribute to some 
recitations. Such lesson rehearsal as has been suggested is 
quickly productive of results ; lesson preparation soon re- 
quires less time and the increased readiness and clearness in 
the recitation period change its entire atmosphere and tone. 

{iv) The written lesson. The written lesson, not necessarily 
a test or examination, in which most of the work is conducted 
in writing instead of orally, has the distinct merit of giving all 
an opportunity for independent expression which is often im- 
possible in any other way, when classes are large. Another 
advantage is the fact that it provides opportunity for careful 
expression. While oral recitation should predominate, few 
can organize their thoughts and select their words while speak- 
ing in the finished way which is possible even in a first 
writing ; occasional practice in putting down thoughts in this 
more deliberate wsiy and seeing how they look after being 
written is needed by every pupil. This value of written work 
is usually lost in tests and examinations because of the stress 
of the occasion. Now and then a pupil is found who has 
almost no power of oral expression ; the written lesson 
serves his needs and must be used to develop his oral ability 



174 The Work of the Teacher 

whenever this is possible. One who cannot talk but can read 
aloud what he has written should be given this opportunity. 

The written lesson naturally is entitled to greater promi- 
nence in some subjects than in others. In arithmetic and com- 
position, oral and written elements are closely associated ; 
in some schools the announcement of written work in most 
other subjects brings the tenseness of an examination situ- 
ation. Pupils should be so accustomed to occasional written 
work upon the day's assignment that they will not regard writ- 
ten lessons so much a means of testing as opportunity for ex- 
pression. 

(3) Drill, {i) Purpose of drill is to secure the economy oj 
habit. The purpose of drill is to train, to memorize, to form 
habits, to render automatic certain actions the need of which 
recurs. When an activity has been reduced to habit it no 
longer requires intelligence, thinking, or voluntary attention. 
The purpose of habit is to render voluntary effort unnecessary 
in a multitude of relations, thus freeing the mind for situ- 
ations which cannot become habitual. The more of the de- 
tails of our daily life we can hand over to the " effortless 
custody of automatism," the more our powers are siet free for 
other work. Furthermore, habit insures eflEiciency since it 
guarantees a perfectly accurate response instead of the awk- 
ward, blundering one which characterizes activities guided by 
thought. We think while uncertainly pioneering; the road 
once learned, the steadiness of habit serves the purpose better, 

iii) The teacher by drill reduces selected activities to the 
plane of habit. Clearly a line should be drawn between what 
should and what should not be made automatic. If a person 
were compelled to think about such matters as walking or 
the motions required to bring food to the mouth, there would 



Teaching — The Recitation 175 

be little time left for anything else ; on the other hand, one 
who tells the same story or makes the same remark through 
habit is not an interesting conversationaHst. Occasionally 
the school has been accused of so much system, lock step, 
mechanism, and drill that the routine enters the very soul of 
the pupil. Now and then an original or ingenious character 
is met who is very thankful that he never attended the ele- 
mentary school a great deal and so escaped becoming a thought- 
less and uninteresting plodder. It would be unfortunate for 
a pupil's training to result in a series of habit systems without 
stimulating initiative or the higher mental processes which 
give guidance and worth to all. 

It may be suggested, however, that the valuable qualities 
of initiative which the school may infrequently discourage 
would not be developed by having the pupil remain at home ; 
that such qualities are more often than not of no social value 
or of anti-social significance, and that original nature endows 
only a small per cent of children with superior attributes of 
really valuable originality. It may be doubted whether the 
school causes pupils to be overmechanical in their thinking; 
it has not been proved that thorough drill resulting in autom- 
atized activity where thinking is unnecessary causes transfer 
of this routine to the fields in which judgment is needed. 
Perhaps more loss has resulted from engrossment with petty 
details which would not occupy attention if drill had been 
more thorough. 

The problem of the teacher is to select those activities 
which should be made habits and then by intelHgent, eco- 
nomical, persistent drill secure the habitua.l reactions. Little 
effort is required to name a long Hst of situations calling for 
automatism. It is wasteful to think about the spelling of 



176 The Work of the Teacher 

ordinary words and often quite useless, for who by taking 
thought can master Enghsh spelling ? It is not even essential 
that one shall know the spelling of a very large vocabulary ; 
it is vastly important that he shall do a great amount of re- 
peated spelling of everyday words without being conscious of 
their spelling at all. Facility, celerity, and accuracy in num- 
ber operations is never possible until the response to symbol 
combinations is prompt, unconscious, and inevitable ; to 
expend much thinking in addition is not alone wasteful but 
dangerous, since it makes occasion for errors. Similarly 
punctuation, capitalization, syllabication at the end of a 
line, inflection, modulation, and emphasis in oral reading, 
as well as most of what is called " manners," should become 
habit. 

The necessity of insuring unvarjdng reactions in habit 
situations is well shown in case of fire drills ; success here 
depends upon the strength of the bonds uniting the system 
of habits which constitute the means of escape from the build- 
ing in the presence of distracting elements. The fact that 
politeness does not come as the result of studying etiquette 
manuals demonstrates the same necessity ; " book manners " 
may serve in calm situations, but in unguarded moments, or 
the stress of emergencies, only that which has become second 
nature may be depended upon. " Punctuation has never 
been mastered until its rules are forgotten." " The rule says 
a period should be placed at the end of the sentence " is not 
the ideal aimed at by effective drill, which should render the 
habit unconscious and unvariable when the habit situation 
presents itself. 

{Hi) Suggestions for drill based upon the psychology of habit. 
To jdeld results drill must be based upon the psychology of 



Teaching — The Recitation 177 

habit. The law for habit formation has been briefly stated as 
" focalization of attention plus attentive repetition." Elab- 
orating this very brief statement by explaining it in relation to 
the drill phases of classroom work is the purpose of the follow- 
ing discussion. 

Focalization oj consciousness upon what must become habit 
is the first step. This involves clear comprehension of what is 
to be made habitual, and motive for effort. Clear com- 
prehension requires that the pupil shall have unmistakably in 
mind the process or activity which he is acquiring ; it is best 
to understand the reason for punctuation or to comprehend the 
poem to be memorized, or the process in arithmetic, though 
reasons for the process may not always be given. Motive 
for practice is at its best when the pupil feels direct need of 
the activity which has been isolated for drill ; he most will- 
ingly attends to what is seen to be worth while. 

Repeat with attention upon the element being automatized. 
Repetition with attention is the second essential of drill. 
Strictly speaking, repetition without attention is hardly pos- 
sible, but the mind may be centered upon some other than 
the element selected for memorizing or making automatic. 
The teacher who requires a pupil to copy a word ten times in 
order to fix its correct spelling cannot be sure that attention 
is primarily upon letter sequence, sound of the word, or 
syllabication ; it may be upon a peculiar flourish which is 
given to the penmanship. The pupil who is required to pro- 
nounce a word repeatedly to establish correct pronunciation 
may have his attention fixed upon the teacher through fear 
to such an extent that his repetitions ar§ vain. It is a matter 
of common observation that many who take part in congre- 
gational singing are unable after a hundred repetitions to 



178 The Work of the Teacher 

recall either words or tune. Concert repetition affords much 
opportunity for repeating with the minimum of attention. 
A good way of testing concert work is to restrict participation 
to the half or third of the group most in need of drill. What 
has been a vigorous chorus often becomes a hesitating solo 
or duet. 

The keenest interest palls unless its object is changed or 
presented in a new manner. Especially destructive of in- 
terest in drill practice is a uniform method pursued day after 
day throughout the term. It is teachers who have not re- 
sourcefulness to vary their methods that give school life the 
dreary aspect which it evidently presents to many children. 
Variety is the spice of drill work. Fifteen minutes spent 
upon addition practice achieves more if it includes oral and 
written work, flash cards, and a contest than if all the time 
is occupied with a single plan. Nor must devices be worn 
threadbare by long-continued daily use. A few suggestions 
for holding attention to practice repetition are given ; every 
drill subject offers its own special field for variant devices 
which teachers must be alert to discover. 

Fix time limits ; see how many examples can be solved 
or words learned in ten minutes; use group competition in 
spelling matches and ciphering contests. An alert interest 
and cooperation on the part of the teacher put zest into drill 
exercise ; this is shown in the case of the teacher who makes 
up drill examples and solves them while the class is at work, 
instead of depending upon book answers already worked out. 
Plays and games, in which drill is subordinated to the ends 
of the game and every device or problem that utilizes the 
element which is being reduced to habit, result in more vitalized 
drill and insure attention. And of course, since effective 



Teaching — The Recitation 179 

drill represents vigorous effort, — is " hard work/' — drill 
periods should never be very long. 

Practice only correct models. Practice should invariably 
be upon correct models. Errors are fixed as quickly by at- 
tentive repetition as are correct forms ; a tendency to do the 
wrong thing results from doing it ; when situations recur 
similar to the one which failed to bring the right response, 
there is always the possibility of " taking the wrong road." 
The habit of not being sure of the spelling of certain words 
is an illustration ; such words are often those which have been 
spelled incorrectly a few times. The pupil who imitates the 
ungrammatical speech of an ignorant or silly person finds 
these oft-uttered expressions coming back at unexpected 
moments. The teacher who pronounces to a class long lists 
of spelling words before sufficient opportunity for study has 
been given may be helping to deepen wrong impressions for 
all who write words incorrectly. If crowded for time, it is 
far wiser to complete a small part of the drill practice cor- 
rectly than to cover the whole inaccurately. 

Every element to he made habitual must he given practice. 
Every element, to be mastered, must be given practice. This 
follows because of the specific nature of habit. No one expects 
to learn to add by repeating the words of a spelling lesson, 
but many teachers ignore specific relations in expecting 
practice to result in general improvement. " Practice pro- 
nouncing your words more plainly " or " Improve your 
writing " are common examples of too general study directions. 
It is specific words and letters which need practice, and those 
most needing improvement are likely . to receive as little 
repetition as those not in need of attention when such di- 
rections are given to the pupil. When practicing addition, it 



i8o The Work of the Teacher 

should be recognized that improvement in adding one com- 
bination gives no assurance of increased ability in the use of 
others. Thus repeating 7 + 8=15 has no bearing upon 
9 + 5= 14 and very little upon 27 + 8 = 35. 

The more difficult elements require the most practice. Most 
effort and the greatest number of repetitions should be upon 
elements presenting special difficulty. Examples familiar to 
primary teachers are 9X7,7X8, and 9X8, and a considerable 
list of words which tend to be mispronounced or misspelled 
by most pupils. In all such cases the troublesome element 
should be isolated, special attention directed to any peculiar- 
ities it may possess, and increased repetition provided. 

Appeal through several senses rather than one. Drill is 
rendered more effective if appeal is made through more than 
one sense. To illustrate: if a word is written repeatedly as 
well as spelled aloud, probability of its retention is increased 
through utilization of visual, auditory, and motor impressions. 

Provide for repetition at gradually increased intervals. After 
the plane of habit has been attained opportunity for occa- 
sional repetition should be given at intervals which may be 
gradually lengthened. If twenty repetitions are sufficient to 
insure automatism, two or three the following day and one 
daily for some time thereafter should result in fixing the 
habit or insuring recall. Repeating at intervals is cared for 
in some school subjects by recurring needs of the classroom, 
as in the case of elementary combinations or the multiplica- 
tion tables. In other fields economical procedure requires 
that the teacher shall make provision for such distributed 
repetition. This is true with poetry or quotations which it 
is desirable the pupil shall remember for a life time ; require 
such selections to be well memorized ; a week later call for them 



Teaching — The Recitation i8i 

again and repeat this procedure a few more times during the 
school year. 

(4) Appreciation and enjoyment. An important purpose of 
teaching is to develop the abiUty to appreciate and enjoy 
what is most worth while. If from all recitations one sub- 
tracts that which can properly be called testing, instructing, 
or drill, there still remains the ill-defined purpose of " getting 
pupils to like " certain things — to care for good reading, to 
be fond of good music, pictures, or beautiful landscapes. 
This is pecuUarly true of literature as opposed to composition, 
of art contrasted with drawing, of music rather than scale 
reading. The undefinable values of these subjects elude all 
ordinary tests; photographing a group of children enjoying 
a poem gives no index of character effects. Instruction is 
powerless to develop, and drill sometimes destructive of 
these finer values. Analysis of set lessons for appreciation 
yields meager results, but a few suggestions may be confi- 
dently made. 

(i) Enthusiasm of teacher more effective than direct suggestion. 
The teacher must like what he plans to cause pupils to care 
for. " It is a rule of the school that you must enjoy this " 
is but a degree worse than " I ask you to like this," or " This 
is admired by all who know," for the latter lead to h3^ocrisy. 
" Isn't this fine ! " and similar suggestions designed to push 
pupils directly into an expression of admiration may elicit the 
desired response, but this should be rated as acquiescence 
with the teacher rather than genuine appreciation. Repeating 
the moral pointed at by the haec fabula docet of a hundred 
years ago hardly proved that the pupil appreciated the 
moral. Honest admiration by the teacher is more effective 
in begetting appreciation than is direct suggestion. 



1 82 The Work of the Teacher 

{ii) Preparation in harmony with aim of appreciation. 
Though it is not practicable to mark off an appreciation 
exercise into definite steps, it is desirable to make sure that 
preparation is adequate, and in harmony with the appreci- 
ating aim. Devotional exercises which begin with or are 
preceded by sharp reprovals or scolding; telling pupils that 
the author of a beautiful poem about to be enjoyed was a 
disagreeable man whom no one liked ; prefacing a lesson on 
kindness to animals by allusions to mad dogs or English 
sparrows as pests are examples of wrong preparation ; so is 
exhaustive analysis of a literary selection whose reading should 
be a delightful experience. 

(Hi) Utilizing incidental opportunities to develop appreci- 
ation. The alert teacher is as ready to modify regular routine, 
so that he may take advantage of events which have stirred 
emotions, as to avoid mistakes like those mentioned. An 
exciting election affords opportunity for appreciation of our 
institutions and the importance of sterling character in the 
men elected to office ; a community song festival or a musical 
number of a lecture course contributes to the psychological 
moment for music appreciation. 

{iv) Immediate expression of emotion not demanded. The 
aim in developing appreciation may be realized even though 
there is no recognition upon the part of pupils ; in fact it is 
wise to be satisfied without attempting to secure expression of 
emotion. Many pupils hate to acknowledge a liking for what 
is admittedly fine or high class. A suitable story or poem 
read with force and expression, a fine ideal presented through 
a biography of consuming interest, an artist's masterpiece 
commented upon only enough to direct attention to its 
meaning and then left by daily contact to find its way into 



Teaching — The Recitation 183 

the hearts of pupils are examples of ways in which appreci- 
ation may be secured. Poor performance of any kind is the 
surest way to prevent appreciation by school boys and girls, 
who, without knowing it, admire efficiency. Skillful, impres- 
sive, and artistic presentation of the finest and best may be 
depended upon to register the right effects upon what pupils 
genuinely care for. 

c. Skill in questioning, (i) School questions a technical 
instrument. If a single aspect of teachers' technical fitness 
for classroom work were selected as the best standard for 
judging efficiency, ability in questioning might well be named. 
It should be noted at the outset that the teacher's question is 
a professional tool, quite different in purpose from inquiries 
usually made outside of school. If the reader lists the next 
twenty questions he hears at home or on the playground, all 
will probably be requests for information. Occasionally a 
rhetorical question is heard in the nature of a strong affinna- 
tion, as in, " Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? " 
Now and then one is employed to justify a course of conduct, 
as, " What would you have done? " implying that what has 
been done was inevitable. All such minor purposes, affirm- 
ing, justifying, confuting, or mystifying, the teacher's ques- 
tions may serve, but the great purpose of ordinary questions 
is almost entirely foreign to that of the school question used 
by the teacher. 

The teacher knows the answer to most of his questions be- 
fore they are asked. He asks to test, clarify, correct wrong 
notions, or emphasize important ideas, but not for the sake 
of securing information of direct value to himself. If the 
teacher asks the janitor how to regulate the temperature of 
the room, he is primarily interested in acquiring this bit of 



184 The Work of the Teacher 

knowledge and but little concerned with the fact that the 
janitor speaks ungrammatically, makes little use of this 
opportunity for self-expression, or has encountered difficulties 
in learning to manage the heating system. If a pupil is asked 
to explain how he solved a problem, the teacher is not in need 
of the solution, which he is quite able to perform without 
the pupil's assistance, but is greatly concerned with modes 
of expression, and is constantly questioning to discover what 
has proved difficult and perhaps is not yet understood. If a 
pedestrian asks which road to take, he cares little how the one 
interrogated came by the information, but the teacher ques- 
tioning upon a problem is quite as much intent upon how 
the pupil arrived at the solution as upon testing his attainment. 
Since the teacher's question is distinctly a teaching device, 
it should be studied as such in this discussion. 

(2) Classifications of questions, {a) Fact and thought ques- 
tions. Fact questions call for answers which to a large ex- 
tent depend upon memory; such are most of those which 
begin with what, when, where, and sometimes in mathematical 
relations, how much or how many. Thought questions require 
answers which are the product of judgment or reason; why 
and how are the initial words of many of these. It should not 
be assumed that these words or any others are infallible guides 
in determining the character of questions since it is quite pos- 
sible for pupils to memorize reasons as well as facts, or, more 
strictly, such memorized reasons become facts accepted with- 
out reasoning. The pupil who answers a why question by 
saying that " two books and a newspaper said so " is reason- 
ing more truly perhaps than others who in parrot fashion re- 
cite a book series of reasons. To the question, " Why did 
America declare war in 1812? " the answer, " Because Eng- 



Teaching — The Recitation 185 

land insisted upon the right of search, impressed seamen, and 
wrecked our commerce " may represent thought or it may be 
mere reproduction of the words of a textbook. Fact ques- 
tions are legitimate tools, but most teachers employ too many 
of them ; what and when are grievously overworked words in 
the repertoire of most teachers' questions. 

For many instructors it might be enlightening to resolve to 
abstain from the use of these words of interrogation during 
one school day ; it is not probable that the resolution would 
be carried out, but it might result in an effort to frame thought 
questions so that a knowledge of facts would be required in 
making the answer. This would have the double advantage 
of reducing the number of questions and improving the con- 
tinuity of answers. 

(6) Pivotal, developing, and sequential questions. The pivotal 
question is one which in its answer calls for the central or im- 
portant idea of a unit of subject matter. If a sufficient num- 
ber of these are carefully elaborated in the lesson plan and 
skillfully used, teaching may be excellent in spite of minor 
mistakes or formal incorrectness. Complete answers to the 
half dozen pivotal questions around which a lesson may be 
organized are seldom possible without the use of supplementary 
discussion and developing questions. 

A developing question leads to an understanding of relation- 
ships through subject matter already comprehended. A 
series of these is often required to elicit the answer to pivotal 
questions. Essential to all good teaching, greatest skill is 
requisite in using the " development method " to prevent 
certain characteristic wastes. In the first place not all can be 
thus drawn out ; the teacher who endeavors to develop all 
from pupils' previous experience without " telling " anything 



1 86 The Work of the Teacher 

directly is sure to lose time in interrogatory excursions which 
can only by chance lead to the expected answer. Idle guess- 
ing upon the part of pupils is another phenomenon present 
when development has run aground and needs direct telling 
to get off the shoals so as to continue its voyage. The teacher 
should recognize that it is often impossible and even more 
frequently uneconomical to use this method, but an im- 
portant part of planning --a lesson is the formulation of de- 
velopment questions. The pert pupil who said to an awk- 
ward beginning teacher, " I know what you want but your 
question won't bring it," was expressing what many pupils 
would feel if they were gifted with sufficient insight to dis- 
cover what is wrong with their teacher's questions. All are 
amused by lists of incorrect answers, some of which are silly 
enough, but if pupils answered strictly the questions asked, 
results would still afford sufficient scope for merriment. 
Until a teacher has acquired skill in presentation every de- 
velopment question should be made out beforehand with the 
answer it is expected to elicit clearly in mind. " Will the 
question bring it? " If not, it should be recast until it will. 
Sequential questions are those which fit logically into the 
development of the subject being presented. This may 
not mean the logic of the grown-up ; it may mean the psy- 
chological order, logical to the pupil, discussed earlier in the 
chapter. If a question seems to have no appropriate place 
in the series, if it could as well be asked in one place as in 
another, there is some reason to doubt whether it should be 
asked at all. One of the most helpful things a teacher who 
is ambitious for self-improvement can do is to arrange pivotal 
questions upon a lesson to be taught with the minor ques- 
tions which will probably be needed in developing the subject 



Teaching — The Recitation 187 

and determining exactly the place each should occupy in ideal 
sequence. This ideal arrangement will probably not be fol- 
lowed in the classroom, but persistence in making such plans 
will surely eliminate the confused and inconsequential teach- 
ing which so commonly puzzles the minds of straight-think- 
ing children and of course does nothing to improve the con- 
sistency of minds less clear. 

(c) Types of objectionable questions. The foregoing classi- 
fications of questions include those which characterize good 
teaching; several other types are conceded to be objection- 
able. Direct, leading, alternating, and elliptical questions 
are among these. 

The direct question calls for a " yes " or " no " answer. 
It is a poor teaching instrument because it may be answered 
without thought or knowledge of facts ; it requires the teacher, 
already in danger of talking too much, to use a sentence or 
more in securing a nearly worthless monosyllabic response 
from a pupil who is usually a too silent partner in the recita- 
tion. Pupils have a well-marked tendency to say " yes " 
rather than " no " in answering such questions, but the 
teacher's maimer or inflection often hints the preferred re- 
sponse, thus taking away all need of mental effort on their 
part. 

The leading question indicates the answer unmistakably 
as " Alfred was a good king, wasn't he? " Many questions 
direct in form are essentially leading. " Was Alfred a good 
King? " usually leads to the answer " Yes," both because of 
the natural tendency to give an affirmative response and be- 
cause, in spite of a few experiences to the contrary, the pupil 
is loath to believe that the teacher is trying to make a fool of 
him with a trick question. 



1 88 The Work of the Teacher 

The alternating question limits the answer to one of two 
possibilities, as, " Which is more important, the army or the 
navy? " When followed by " Why? " or in some other way 
given a form which requires thinking, an alternating or direct 
question is rescued from being a symptom of weak teaching ; 
otherwise the alternating question is little better than the 
others just noted. Incompetent teachers sometimes employ 
all of these poor forms in eliciting an unimportant answer. 
As an illustration which grows in intensity because of its 
brevity the following sequence serves : 

I. Which is the largest of the continents ? 

(No answer.) 
II. Is it Asia or Africa ? (Alternating) 

(I don't know.) 
III. Is it Asia? (Direct) 

(I don't know.) 
rV. It's Asia, isn't it? (Leading) 
The third or fourth of these can hardly fail to secure the 
answer. 

The elliptical question is in the form of a statement with 
important terms omitted ; its principal shortcomings are the 
same as those noted in the preceding forms, — the teacher is 
made to talk too much and the pupils do very little. These 
defects are glaringly evident in the following examples of 
actual classroom work : 

"He would have to live in the state a certain length of time be- 
fore he could? (Vote), and then after he has had a chance to 
study our laws and customs and all, he is supposed to know whether 
this is against the law or ? (Not)." 

(Elliptical pauses made with a strong rising inflection.) 



Teaching — The Recitation 189 

"The Indians fired a volley at the English and then took to 
their? (Heels)." 

(3) Suggestions upon questioning, (a) Questions should he 
clear in language and expression, — this means clear to the pupil, 
for what is quite clear in the mind of the teacher may have a 
very different significance to him. Mere obscurity of pro- 
nunciation may be responsible for what seem at first wholly 
unaccountable as well as exceedingly amusing answers. E.g. 

I. " What is the relation of the motion of the earth to climate ? " 
"Climate is caused by the emotion of the earth." 

2. "What was done to Achilles to render him immortal?" 
"He was dipped in the river Styx to render him immoral." 

3. "Give an example of a hmited monarchy." "The govern- 
ment of England is a limited mockery." 

(b) Questions should be definite. A wretchedly indefinite 
but commonly used form is of this model : " What about 
wild crab apples? " To this the pupil may properly reply 
that they are sour, or green, or cheap, or useful ; that they 
grow in the woods or that he dislikes them. Any answer 
satisfies the question and should be accepted by a teacher 
who asks such questions. " Tell me about " and " Make 
a few statements about " are often little better. Placing a 
situation for which a solution must be devised, limiting the 
field by specifying conditions of which the answer must take 
account, or calling for a definite number of points or cases are 
effective means of giving a question definiteness. 

(c) Questions should not be framed too closely in the language 
of the textbook and should certainly not be read from the 
book. If the teacher uses this catechetical method, he should 



iQO The Work of the Teacher 

at least be as fair to his pupils as were his predecessors of the 
middle ages in seeing that each child has his responses specifi- 
cally written out. A fairly safe rule to which there are ex- 
ceptions is that in content subjects the pupil has the right to 
use the textbook whenever the teacher depends upon his. 
If the teacher must read his questions, why not the pupil his 
answers ? 

{d) Questions should he distributed according to the needs oj 
the class. This does not mean equally to all, since both ques- 
tions and needs vary. Some pupils insistently hold up their 
hands or by eager and intelligent expression invite notice and 
secure undue share of the teacher's attention, a few monop- 
olizing the class period if the teacher permits this condition. 
Furthermore the answers of these eager pupils are likely to 
be clear, distinct, correct, and so given as to prove of interest 
to the class. Others never volunteer to answer, attract no at- 
tention by their expression, and destroy interest of the whole 
class by their indistinct, hesitating, and finally incorrect 
answers. What should be the teacher's policy in this very 
typical schoolroom situation? 

Some make sure that no one is omitted by consecutive 
questioning, beginning at one end of the class or proceeding 
through the class roll. This plan is satisfactory when every 
pupil is held to the lesson by a tense interest, which is seldom 
the condition long at a time ; for the sake of stimulating atten- 
tion, if for no other reason, most alert teachers use a promis- 
cuous order in their questions. The device of a fixed order or 
of saying, " Next," " Next," " Next," seems economical, but 
it is too often a symptom of lazy, humdrum class work with a 
minimum of attention. 

Other teachers, inspired by a spirit of impartiality, ask 



Teaching — The Recitation 191 

even the most hopeless a just share of questions, but quickly 
save class interest by answering their own questions, the result 
being something like a monologue by the teacher. Still another 
teacher, failing to secure a fully articulate response, repeats 
the correct answer for the benefit of the class. All these 
expedients might more often be commendable were it not 
for the fact that answering one's own questions and re- 
peating pupils' answers are likely to grow into teaching 
habits. Furthermore none of these achieves the important 
purpose of causing backward children to express themselves 
coherently and fully. Pupils most able to take prominent 
place in the recitation exact from the teacher no great degree 
of questioning skill; the measure of instructional ability is 
more often success in bringing out those who seem timid and 
need their own capacities revealed to themselves. 

(e) Questions should be asked with an attitude of confidence 
in the pupil's ability to answer. The teacher, sure of his 
ground and fully aware of what he is going to say, as well as 
reasonably acquainted with all of what pupils are likely to 
contribute, is apt to forget the tense and sometimes fearful 
anticipation with which many pupils await a question filled 
with destiny. " What if I couldn't answer I " " What if I 
should forget!" "What if he should ask me that! ^' are 
anxious silent voicings of trepidation familiar to all but a 
few hardy spirits or those who are stoHdly unconcerned. 
Make a row of interrogation marks and opposite each place 
an exclamation point ; this perhaps represents graphically the 
mental state of every questioned pupil until he recovers, as it 
were, his mental breath and is ready to recite. Now if this 
already tense situation is rendered distressing by undue haste 
or an attitude upon the part of the teacher which plainly says, 



192 The Work of the Teacher 

" I don't expect you to know," or " I saw you idling and 
so of course you can't," or even worse, " I'll try you, but it is 
unlikely that you know, for you never do," the pupil seldom 
does his best, and his attitude varies all the way from panic to 
lingering resentment of the insult. There is little place for 
the cynical or challenging manner in teaching ; confidence in 
questioning begets successful answers. 

(/) Number of questions should he reduced. A studied re- 
duction in the number of questions would usually result in 
better class work. It has been found that in content subjects, 
such as history or geography, many successful teachers ask 
an average of two or three questions a minute and others as 
many as four or five. Presumably each of these elicits some 
kind of response. This means a very great number of short 
questions and shorter answers in a class period of twenty or 
thirty minutes. In fact, examination of stenographic reports 
of many recitations shows that teachers do nearly all the 
work, pupils merely " punctuating " with " yes," " no," and 
" I think so." Of course such exercises give little oppor- 
tunity for self-expression and must result in flitting, frag- 
mentary mental contacts. The only procedure practicable 
to reduce the number of questions is to have most of them 
formulated before recitation begins ; the hurry and inspi- 
ration of a live class-situation are not conducive to making 
over one's habits of questioning. 

(4) Pupils^ answers. Pupils' answers are a large part of the 
subject of questioning. As has been stated they should be in 
the teacher's mind when questions are made and asked. They 
should be correct, clear, and asked in a tone loud enough to 
be understood by class and teacher. Unless the pupil is evi- 
dently on the wrong track he should be allowed to complete 



Teaching — The Recitation 193 

his answer uninterrupted. For much incoherent or inaudible 
reciting teachers are directly responsible. One who breaks 
in upon a reciting pupil with, " That's right ; I know what 
you mean," should be very sure that the pupil is not one who 
needs practice in expression, and that no other member of 
the class needs to hear the statement deliberately and clearly 
given. Especially unfortunate is it to encourage inexact or 
incomplete contributions from pupils who are vague or slip- 
shod in their use of language by accepting anything less than 
the clearest statements which they can make. " You did not 
tell that exactly right but your meaning is clear " is some- 
times pardonable if a pupil is timid, but it should not be over- 
worked. The mystic and unduly egotistic attitude of " I 
know but I cannot tell " needs no encouragement. 

d. Use of illustrative material, (i) Nature and purpose. 
To teach skillfully one must have and use a vast fund of il- 
lustrations and illustrative devices. Following Adams, " Il- 
lustration may be said to be the process of throwing light 
upon something that is assumed to be known already in a 
vague and more or less unsatisfactory way." ^ It may also 
have for its purpose to make the pupil realize more vividly or 
appreciate and enjoy. Comenius was speaking of vivifying 
illustration when he said that " he who has seen a rhinoceros 
or even a picture of one knows better than he would by six 
hundred descriptions." The vagueness and unreality of 
much which is taught in school is typified in the difference 
between the use of learned and knew in the case of a class 
to which the motions of the earth had just been explained by 
means of a globe. Wonderingly, a pupi} questioned, " Does 

'Adams: Exposition and Illustration in Teaching, 18-21. 
o 



194 The Work of the Teacher 

the earth go that way?" "Yes; have you never learned 
that? " " Oh, yes, but we never knew it before." 

In directing the work of a class the teacher tells or describes, 
shows more or less objectively, or has pupils act or do. As 
an example, the pupil may be told how to make a paper drink- 
ing cup, watch the teacher make it, or make it himself. In 
this case the second and third may be classed as illustrations 
of the first. A teacher who expected pupils to fold such a 
cup properly after merely hearing verbal directions would 
evidently be disappointed. The power to use generalized 
concepts is not very great among children. This is seen in 
the well-known fact that abstract moral teaching which does 
not lay hold upon flesh-and-blood illustrations of principles 
presented accomplishes so little. 

Illustrations may often be regarded as a means of helping 
to build up an incompleted generalization. This is clearly 
shown in children's definitions usually based upon the concrete 
imagery of illustration. The accompanying definitions from 
lower intermediate grade pupils show the dependence : "A 
station is where people get on a train. Caution means to 
look out, to take care. Patience is being quiet, not fussing." 
At a certain stage a child, asked to define patriot or inventor, 
will probably reply " George Washington was a patriot," 
" Edison is an inventor." None of these is finished, but they 
represent the illustrative beginnings of real definitions which 
will gradually acquire fuller meanings. 

(2) General suggestions for use of illustration, (a) Use too 
many rather than not enough. It is better to use too many than 
too few illustrations. Since, supposedly at least, the teacher 
thoroughly understands' all he is teaching and all is sufficiently 
vivid to him, there is constant tendency to neglect illustra- 



Teaching — The Recitation 195 

tive devices. Sometimes the best thinkers are most exposed 
to this danger. Knowing only their way of arriving at ideas, 
it is difficult to comprehend the dependence of another type 
of mind upon concrete imagery. 

{h) Both pupils and teachers use illustration. Pupils as well 
as teachers should be expected to illustrate their contribution 
to the recitation. A pupil, being asked to explain the dif- 
ference between suspended and supported, pulled a string from 
his pocket and with a suspended key made the matter clear. 
For a pupil to do anything except talk when asked to recite 
was unusual enough to attract so much attention that the 
teacher asked him to '' keep his top-string in his pocket." 
In many classes mild excitement would ensue if a pupil, un- 
bidden by the teacher, should step to the blackboard and 
draw a few lines or a sketch in explanation of his talk. The 
blackboard should serve for spontaneous illustrative drawing 
for all who can use it. If the teacher endeavors to make clear 
his remarks by its use, why should not the pupil? Given a 
little encouragement he would save much time, and not in- 
frequently prove more expert than his teacher. 

{c) Illustrations should have worth in themselves. Only 
illustrations worth while should be used. Many children re- 
member their important lessons in this form and never get 
beyond the intellectual plane of referring to the single in- 
stance. Like the child who must face the north in order to 
distinguish his right hand from the left or imagine himself 
standing where he first learned the points of the compass if he 
wishes to be clear about directions, they must call up a story 
to stand for types of conduct or a model sentence to illustrate 
punctuation or grammatical usage. If this very common 
mode of mental action is to be typified in " It was like that 



196 The Work of the Teacher 

one^^ how important that the one remembered shall be typical 
and the best of its class for this purpose ! In the wealth of 
material which may be used only lack of discretion or of 
effort on the part of the teacher permits employment of less 
than the best. 

[d) Illustrations must be related to material or recitation. 
Illustrations must be brought into relation to the lesson which 
is being presented. Though responsible, as has been said, for 
a value of its own, when used to vivify or explain it is subor- 
dinated in purpose. If the illustration is exceedingly interest- 
ing or continued for a long time, the class and sometimes the 
teacher lose sight of what was being done. Occasionally it is 
quite permissible to change the purpose and follow the illus- 
tration, but it should be recognized that the original lesson is 
not being taught. For example, a lesson in percentage might 
be vitalized by a study of market reports in a newspaper. 
This might lead to questions upon other phases of the market 
report, which could be more economically answered while 
interest and newspaper material were present. Such deflec- 
tions of purpose are legitimate if they do not result in de- 
moralization of all plans, but following temporary interest 
through several phases of a market report could hardly be 
extended to unplanned discussion of jokes, cartoons, or sport- 
ing news of an adjoining page. 

The bearing of the illustration should be apparent and the 
material chosen apt for its purpose. What is employed in 
explaining should not itself need explaining. Nothing is more 
difficult than to find illustrative material appropriate to the 
varying intellectual levels of a group of small children. 

An abuse of illustrative material is the common device of 
using " illustration " merely to hold attention, even by mere 



Teaching — The Recitation 197 

amusement. When such a procedure is extensively followed, 
it becomes necessary to specialize so fully in " extras " that 
time is left for Httle else. And even by the teacher's most 
zealous efforts, the pupil's appetite in time reaches the point 
at which it has no rehsh for consecutive or well-organized con- 
tent unless the element of novelty is present in an eminent 
degree. " Too dry " or " too deep " is his condemnation of 
all which may not be picked up in illustrations. 

(e) Personal illustrations used with caution. Personal illus- 
trations must be used judiciously. To say, " Suppose I were 
General Scott "or to use stories based upon personal experi- 
ence adds a touch of vividness, but pupils easily grow weary 
of one who is constantly bringing himself into his teaching, 
" talking about himself," as they are apt to express it. If 
the form is, " suppose you had — " or "if you were Mr. 
Smith," or " Suppose your mother bought tickets for you — ," 
the instructor must be very sure that he is well acquainted 
with all the circumstances. The pupil may be embarrassed 
rather than helped to think if the name Smith is that of an 
intensely disliked rival or if mother's failure to buy tickets 
has been the cause of a recent disappointment, recollection of 
which is still a near tragedy. Especially hazardous is the 
use of personal illustration with pupils who are sensitive or 
nervous about deformity, peculiarity, or unusual size. 

(3) Common forms of illustrative material. Among more 
commonly used illustrative material may be named pictures, 
diagrams, graphs, maps, globes, stories, numeral frames, and 
model sentences. Only a few of these will be discussed. 

(a) Pictures, drawings, graphs, diagrams. Pictures and draw- 
ings are indispensable illustrative media. Clippings, post- 
card views, lantern-slides, stereographs, motion pictures, il- 



198 The Work of the Teacher 

lustrated books, and magazines all have a place in instruction. 
From the museum of the large school or system to the indi- 
vidual collection which every teacher should accumulate, 
pictures occupy first place as illustrative devices. Those in 
cheap textbooks are often so poorly executed and unimpres- 
sive that teachers pass them by, assuming perhaps that pupils 
will " see them anyhow." See them they probably will, but 
this is far from identical with securing a full measure of what 
they contain. Specific study of pictures accompanying les- 
sons represents time well spent. Study-questions like "Ex- 
plain the picture on page — " or "By means of the pictures 
on pages 54 and 162, contrast modes of transportation in 1820 
with those of 1918 " can be utilized to advantage more gen- 
erally than they now are. Not only should the very large 
amount of textbook illustration be utilized, but the better pic- 
tures, which all may easily collect from other sources, should 
be rendered instantly and easily available by some system of 
indexing ; the value of abundant pictorial illustration ever at 
command is sufiicient to justify great effort in this direction. 
The largest collection, no matter how carefully catalogued 
and made ready for use, still leaves much need for the teacher's 
effort in blackboard drawings, diagrams, and graphs. While 
a large proportion of teachers have little skill in use of crayon, 
it is possible for all to represent many relations more vividly 
through this visual means than by an endless amount of un- 
supported description. Measurements and shapes of walks, 
rooms, fields, and other surfaces are made easier of compre- 
hension by means of a few representing lines ; pupils as well 
as teachers should draw the geometric figures found in their 
problems. Shapes, outlines, direction, and relative size can 
be indicated without training in drawing, but instructional 



Teaching — The Recitation 



199 



efl&ciency would be greatly increased if all were given suf- 
ficient training to go far beyond these beginnings in their il- 
lustrative blackboard work. The unskilled teacher who feels 
keenly the need of such skill has started upon the road to ac- 
quire it ; one who is never mortified at his inability to draw 
is content to do poorer teaching than should satisfy him. 

Graphs. Graphs of various kinds are a form of visual 
illustration designed to demonstrate vividly relative magni- 
tudes. While a few pupils can make comparisons as well 
without the graphical representation and find it necessary to 
learn the illustration as something added, it seems that most 
children find this device an aid. To say that North Carolina 
is twenty-five times as large as Delaware has as much mean- 
ing to some as the linear comparison : 

North Carolina, 

Delaware, _ 

or 



North Carolina 



Delaware 



but if both are employed, the chances are greatly increased 
that all will comprehend, since the numbers may be almost 
meaningless to a few who grasp relative sjzes in the graphical 
figures at once. If ratios increase greatly beyond numbers of 
everyday experience, the only impression usually conveyed is 



200 The Work of the Teacher 

that of very much greater or less ; use of graphical means 
here merely results in increased vividness. To say that the 
population of New York is one thousand times as great as 
that of the town in which the pupil lives has as much meaning 
as 




Town New York 



and neither signifies anything more than *' very much larger." 
In all graphical representation, only means which further 
the specific purpose should be utilized. If the design be to 
indicate comparative amounts or magnitudes only, use of 
several colors is confusing rather than enlightening. If the 
production of wheat during a succession of years is to be por- 
trayed, one color only should be used. If the values of the 
wheat and corn crops for a given year are compared, plain 
columns or columns of dollar signs are better than to repre- 
sent the value of one by sheaves of wheat and of the other by 
ears of corn. Linear graphs rather than those which require 
comparison of areas are usually to be preferred if more than 
vague impression is the aim, since most pupils have very 
inaccurate perceptions of comparative areas. In order that 
graphs may be intelligible they must not alone be consistently 
directed toward a purpose, but should be simple and clear in 
execution. Few items can well be represented in any one 
drawing ; even in high school grades the presence of many 
lines or several shades of color is confusing. In addition to 
the instructional value of graphs, their very general use in 
popular and technical periodicals renders it essential that 
pupils should acquire facihty in making and understanding 
this representative device. 



Teaching — The Recitation 



20I 



Diagrams. A diagram is usually an abridged drawing in 
which certain features are made prominent by the absence of 
others not essential to the immediate purpose. It thus hap- 
pens sometimes that the diagram is better than a picture or 
even the object which is being studied, since it discards ir- 
relevant details and isolates significant items. Thus the lines 
representing walls or partitions in buildings may better place 
spatial relations in view than can any other means, since all 
is before the eye at once, whereas one wall effectively hides 
another on a picture or in the structure itself. For similar 
reasons circulation of the blood, parts of the nervous system, 
and the plan of the digestive tract are physiological processes 
in which diagrams best aid. 

Diagrams to indicate word or thought relationships are 
sometimes the simplest means of explanation. The dis- 
tinction between in and into, and between and among may 
be shown as in the accompanying example, typical of such 
devices in common use by good teachers. 

I. In and into. 

Because of the rain, I am walking in the house for exercise. 

I am walking into the house to get my hat. 



Walking In 



Walk 



ing Into 



Between and among. 
A is between B and C. 
M is among N, R, S, and W. 
BAG 

A is between. 



N R 
M 
W 

s 

M is among. 



202 The Work of the Teacher 

Various forms of diagrams are of value to indicate relations 
of words or parts of sentences. Thus the fact that predicate 
nouns and adjectives in some way belong with the subject, 
whereas the direct object sustains an entirely different rela- 
tion, may be made clearer to some minds by the accompany- 
ing device in which the determining line is the little mark 
which follows the verb. 

John I is ^^captain. 
John j is ''^hrave. 
John I takes \ captives. 

Most pupils are able to understand all such relationships 
with little or no use of the diagram ; in any case its value ex- 
cept in very simple forms is doubtful. Diagraming sentences 
often becomes a habit, — almost a disease, — those addicted 
to its use seeming unable to satisfy themselves as to syntax 
relationships until all have been duly disposed of according 
to lines. Pupils of indifferent ability who have developed 
under a regime of diagrams answer promptly that adjectives 
belong under nouns or that the predicate is to the right of the 
subject. Such mechanical understanding of our modes of 
expression is formal and useless, now and then positively 
injurious. It is well to remember also that for many expres- 
sions no simple diagram can be devised, even by the most in- 
genious. Owing to its limitations and a tendency to become a 
fetish, sentence diagraming is a form of illustration not to be 
recommended beyond its most elementary forms. Though 
never indispensable, limited use of simple diagrams often means 
immediate economy of time in the recitation. When employed 



Teaching — The Recitation 203 

for this reason, they cease to be primarily an illustrative de- 
vice. 

{h) Maps. Maps for illustrative purposes are so essential 
that their value is universally acknowledged. While com- 
plaint is sometime made of the poor maps in textbooks and 
on schoolroom walls, there is little doubt that the technique of 
map-making is far in advance of the teachers' ability to make 
use of them. The grosser and amusing consequences of poor 
map teaching have received a share of popular discussion. 
Thus in some form the story of the child who grew up be- 
lieving that Massachusetts was red and Mississippi yellow 
because of the color of these states upon his map has been 
repeated as a bona fide experience ever since colored maps 
came into use in our pubUc schools, though it is very doubtful 
whether any person of thoroughly sound mind ever had all of 
the experience or whether it made any difference what others 
thought of the colors of states. 

Yet this illustration, much overworked but pleasantly re- 
ceived in teachers' institutes, has the value of calling atten- 
tion to a misconception of a map's real function, which is not 
to resemble the part of the earth studied but to represent 
it diagrammatically. Direction, relative distance and size, 
outlines, shapes, location, and position are the most important 
values which pupils should be taught to secure from map 
study. These are more clearly and vividly presented through 
the map as a diagram than by mere telling or description. It 
is worth while also to remember that ability and readiness to 
make use of maps are being developed along with knowledge 
of various parts of the earth's surface. - 

There is serious need of greater emphasis upon map studies ; 
through excessive formal memorizing of unimportant and 



204 The Work of the Teacher 

unrelated items, " place " geography has suffered too great 
a decline. Better questions, emphasis of the important rather 
than the insignificant, and closer linking of map-studies with 
vital relationships of present-day life are needed. In the 
study of an important country or division, the map should be 
fixed definitely and vividly as part of the pupil's permanent 
acquisition. In addition to merely using a book or wall map 
as he studies or reads, the pupil should be directed in making 
his own. With territorial divisions of great importance it is 
not too much to expect fairly accurate outlines to be drawn 
from memory ; on the other hand it is doubtful whether the 
intricate contour of a map like that of Europe should be 
drawn at all; here stencils or outlines should be provided. 
Putting together dissected maps is excellent preparation for 
more detailed study. 

(c) Illustrative stories. Stories are a most valuable means 
of illustration; however, they lend themselves very easily 
to use as mere amusement or expedients for holding attention 
regardless of application. The story by way of illustration 
should be as well told as if for entertainment only, but it should 
have the added quality of " going somewhere," which should 
be in the direction of the lesson. Spinning irrelevant yarns 
may hold attention and still be the cause of losing time. A 
good story-teller loves a good audience and pupils afford such 
a listening group since the constraint of the schoolroom ren- 
ders them very ready to discover values in the teacher's stories ; 
if pupils listen gladly to stories, the teacher should reflect 
that this may merely express preference for the diversion rather 
than anything else the teacher is likely to offer. The minority 
of teachers who are excellent story-tellers should make sure 
that their illustrative stories illustrate; the majority who 



Teaching — The Recitation 205 

have little attainment in this direction should acquire the 
art but use it discreetly. For those to whom illustrative 
story-telling does not come readily, it is worth while to make 
a small collection of stories aptly used, noting in each case 
how the application was made. If this is done and selected 
stories are rehearsed until they can be well told, any teacher 
should develop facility in using this form of illustration. All 
teachers know the interest-compelling power of a well-told 
story ; it seems a deplorable loss to leave unutilized a device 
of so great value. 

e. Use of textbooks in the recitation. The use of textbooks, 
more general in this country than elsewhere, in part because of 
meager educational requirements exacted of teachers, has been 
the cause of much complaint not always wisely directed. The 
type of teacher who looks up to the usual school textbook as 
a complete and final authority has not made a great success 
of textbook teaching, but it is appalling to contemplate what 
he might have done without the book to lean upon. When 
all teachers are well trained in the content and method of 
their subjects there will be less exclusive dependence upon 
textbooks and more teaching of subjects. The present tend- 
ency in this direction is shown in the increasing amount of 
supplementary and reference material wherever teachers reach 
a higher level. The movement is toward the use of many 
books instead of one and perhaps in the direction of doing 
more at school under supervision and less at home. Both of 
these changes should still further decrease undue dependence 
upon a single book but there is no reason to look upon a 
textbookless school as a practical ideal. Excellent books 
have developed in some subjects ; it is increasingly difficult 
by any system of adoptions to place poor or unteachable books 



2o6 The Work of the Teacher 

in the hands of pupils, and many teachers have acquired 
a superior technique in the use of textbooks which is a 
real contribution to the effectiveness of classroom presen- 
tation. 

The primary difficulty is that so many teachers are ac- 
quainted only with textbooks — sometimes with but one in 
each subject. One who has read nothing except a textbook 
may use the book fairly well but his recitation cannot be a 
finished piece of work because he has little background ; yet 
thousands of teachers go before their classes without having 
read a more detailed or thorough treatment of the subjects 
presented than the pupil is expected to read. With only 
moderate training and many daily preparations to make no 
other course can be followed by some elementary teachers, but 
it is unfortunate to work under these circumstances long 
enough to develop habits or ideals satisfied with such narrow- 
ness of teaching. 

Upon a still lower plane is the teacher who, because of in- 
adequate preparation, is ignorant of what is contained in the 
textbook lesson — sometimes unable even to pronounce its 
words correctly or answer reasonable questions — which he 
has expected pupils to master ! Such a teacher's ideal of con- 
ducting a class rises no higher than that of sitting at his desk 
with book open, learning his lesson, making his teaching plan, 
and formulating questions as he lumbers heavily through 
the recitation. Of course he pursues the order laid down 
in the book, never rising above the immediate lesson far 
enough to see other relationships than those of the sequence 
of pages or paragraphs. Without his own book open he 
would not run longer than an unwound clock, but he pre- 
supposes that pupils know their lessons and so must keep their 



Teaching — The Recitation 207 

books closed. " When I consult my book you may use yours," 
such teachers should say to their pupils. 

A further recital of teachers' sins committed in the name of 
textbook instruction is unnecessary. It is the poor workman 
who quarrels with his tools. Such teaching as that hinted at 
in the preceding paragraphs is unfortunately not hard to dis- 
cover among the poor artists of the teaching profession. 
Mention of these shortcomings furnishes a motive for self- 
examination and criticism without which no teacher profits 
much by professional training or teaching experience. The 
unskilled teacher whose highest goal is expressed in holding 
a position and satisfying an easy community of lay judges may 
care little for a more excellent way ; a true professional spirit, 
with its pride in fine service, is always warm to suggestions of 
better teaching ideals. 

/. Suggestions for self-criticism in technique of the recitation. 
The way to become technically expert in conducting class 
work is to be relentlessly self-critical, turning every relevant 
suggestion to account whether it comes from pupils, colleagues, 
parents, or professional reading. The following includes some 
of the minor faults which characterize the work of many 
teachers. Perhaps no one does all of these unnecessary or 
wasteful things but nearly every instructor a few of them, 
sometimes habitually and inexcusably. Use the list a few days 
in checking yourself or another teacher ; how many of these 
are discovered ? 

1. Teaching without the attention of every pupil. 

2. Wandering or sidetracking because of iack of plan. 

3. Talking too loud in order to talk down noise encouraged by 
the loud voice of the teacher. 



2o8 The Work of the Teacher 

4. Talking too much because this is easier than to lead pupils 
to express themselves. 

5. Using traditional devices regardless of their value in the 
present situation. 

6. Repeating questions which have not been understood. 
(Questions sure to be repeated are seldom understood.) 

7. Repeating after each pupil the answer he has just given. 

8. Cheapening your commendation by superfluous praise. 
("That's good." "That's good.") 

9. Monotonously repeating such useless expressions as "all 
right," "of course," in questioning. 

10. Permitting pupils to begin all answers with "Well" or 
joining chains of sentences with "and." 

1 1 . Asking obvious questions or those which indicate the answer. 

12. Allowing bright pupils to monopolize the time. 

13. Spending too much time helping subnormal individuals 
while brighter minds perish. 

14. Using incorrect language or inexcusable slang. 

15. Making meaningless gestures or nervous movements ; main- 
taining ungainly or awkward postures. 

16. Standing or sitting uniformly in the same part of the room. 

17. Conducting recitations in content subjects with open text- 
book, meanwhile requiring pupils to keep theirs closed. 



Exercises 

I. (a) "The recitation method makes the home the real place 
for gaining knowledge, and the school the place for displaying it. 
We might profitably invert this arrangement, letting the school 
be the place for gaining knowledge, and the home the place for ap- 
plying it." (Henderson: Education and the Larger Life, 224.) 

{h) Teaching even a small thing requires large preparation, 
since pupils are influenced by what is not said; the teacher is 



Teaching — The Recitation 209 

unable to teach up to the edge of his knowledge without being 
afraid of falling off, this fear reducing the effect of his efforts. 

(c) " If the American-born teacher of French is better able to 
instruct American pupils than a Frenchman with whom that lan- 
guage is the mother-tongue, it is because he understands their dif- 
ficulties better since his own tongue once refused quite as stub- 
bornly the new linguistic paths along which his thought and 
tongue now move with theirs." 

Find other apt quotations or statements upon the recitation. 

2. It should be remembered that there are three parties to a 
recitation as a rule, the teacher, the reciting pupil, and the listening 
class. To which of the other two is the reciting pupil primarily 
responsible ? 

3. Part of the purpose of the recitation is to develop polite and 
sustained listening. Rank the following expressions of the teacher 
as means of stimulating attention from a listening class : 

Please give better attention. 

What did he say? 

Those who do not listen closely must stay after school. 

Do you agree with what he said? 

4. "As conducted at present, the recitation assumes a perfect 
knowledge on the part of the scholar and has been devised ap- 
parently to give him a chance to display this knowledge. . . . The 
natural result is that the recitation becomes a time for hiding ig- 
norance and putting forward the best foot of knowledge, a pro- 
ceeding no doubt ornamental but less certainly useful." (Hender- 
son : Education and the Larger Life, 224.) It has also been alleged 
that the typical recitation is essentially dishonest since pupils 
feel constrained to please the teacher with their answers. If 
these statements are true, what is the effect upon the pupil's 
character ? 

5. In many schoolrooms it is a common practice to send a group 
of pupils to the blackboard, assigning all the same topic or prob- 



2IO The Work of the Teacher 

lem for solution. Frequently pupils copy each other's work. Aside 
from its moral significance what educational value is there in such 
exercises for the one who copies his companion's work? 

6. List all the inconsistencies of capitalization as shown in the 
blackboard work of pupils and teachers during a week. One 
teacher wrote these lists for a class to copy : 

Meat Fats 

Milk Butter 

eggs oil 

Cheese lard 

7. A teacher who as a pupil had always been in large classes 
called a class of two in a rural school by a series of bell taps, thereby 
attracting the attention of all in the room. With the same class 
this teacher continued to spell by means of "headmarks." Give 
other examples of accustomed devices used in inappropriate situa- 
tions. What would this teacher do if only one pupil were in the 
headmark class? 

8. Which principles of effective drill are violated if the teacher 
points or permits pupils to point to each individual word in a pri- 
mary reading lesson? 

9. Appreciation of the beautiful is often best brought about 
without much analysis of the elements which combine into the 
complete situation. Thus a pupil may dislike boat riding and 
cloudy days, and his garden may have been ruined by birds ; yet he 
might enjoy a picture which includes a boat, clouds, and a flock of 
birds. Discuss a fine picture showing details whose study would 
contribute nothing to its appreciation. 

10. Occasionally a teacher is found who endeavors to organize 
nearly all subjects more mathematically than their content seems 
to justify. "There are three reasons for . . . ," "Give the three 
causes of . . . ," or "What are the three differences between 
. . . ?" are typical of such teaching. Used judiciously definiteness 
in questions and answers is secured by this means. Find examples 



Teaching — The Recitation 211 

of wise and of unwise uses of numerical divisions of content in 
teaching. 

11. Pupils often hold up their hands or recite in response to a 
general situation rather than to any clear understanding of the 
question asked them. A principal, wishing to prove this, visited 
several rooms, giving a brief talk ending with, "Now I want each 
of you to promise to sagitate your constitution every week." All 
promised until a boy in the seventh grade said, "I did mine yester- 
day." (Swift : Mind in Making, 50.) 

Another illustration: Three prominent educators visiting a 
primary room were complimented by the teacher with a question 
addressed to the pupils : "How many of you are glad to see these 
fine gentlemen?" Every hand went up. One of the visitors 
asked the teacher to put the question, "How many would be glad 
to see these gentlemen hanged?" Every hand was raised again. 
What pedagogical inferences may be derived from the action of 
the pupils in the foregoing illustrations? 

12. To illustrate the efifect of what he terms "mental preposses- 
sion" in making a topic difficult, Jastrow mentions the conductor 
of a spelling contest who announced with an air of importance that 
the word he was about to pronounce was very hard to spell and 
cautioned the closest attention to his precise enunciation. He 
then pronounced what seemed for all the world like cat. All failed 
to give the correct spelling, which was then declared to be c-a-t. 
The story may not be literally true but it indicates the fact that 
when one expects a difficulty he is apt to find it or make it. A 
pupil often fails to answer a simple arithmetic question if it is asked 
as part of a subject in which he feels himself a failure ; even what is 
well known by practical experience deserts him in the presence of 
a teacher supposed to be a sharp questioner, and a simple question 
becomes difficult in proportion to the number who have missed it. 
Find examples in your own experience of the effect of expecting 
difficulty. {Fact and Fable, 296-297.) 



212 The Work of the Teacher 

13. An instructor suddenly asked a large class of high school 
graduates how many pounds there are in a ton ; since no one an- 
swered he decided that no one knew, and he later gave considerable 
publicity to his opinion that high school graduates do not know 
anything. Wishing to test the matter another instructor gave op- 
portunity to three classes of approximately equal training and ability 
to demonstrate their knowledge of the same matter as follows : 

(a) He asked the first how many knew the number of pounds 
in a ton. Not quite half seemed to know. 

{h) He asked the second how many pounds in a ton of clover hay. 
Not more than ten percent knew. 

(c) He gave the third a problem involving knowledge of the 
number of pounds in a ton ; all solved it. 

From the evidence, did those high school graduates know how 
many pounds in a ton? Account for the differences in the four 
cases. Without warning ask an intermediate or grammar grade 
class how many know the table of avoirdupois weight. 

14. (a) "How would you solve the fifth problem, Edgar?" 

{h) "Edgar, how would you solve the fifth problem?" From 
the standpoint of opportunity to prepare an answer, which form is 
the better for Edgar ? Which has greater teaching value for other 
members of the class? 

15. Here are several questions similar to some you have heard 
or asked ; in what ways are they objectionable ? 

{a) What about London? 

{h) General Greene had command of which army ? 

(c) Which side is concave and which is smooth? 

{d) Was it Caesar in command or Pompey? 

(e) How does minor music make you feel? 

(/) Tell me about plants. 

(g) How, when, where did he discover the island? 

16. Seeing an inattentive pupil a teacher secured his attention 
by asking him a question, thus embarrassing the pupil and to 
some extent interrupting the lesson. Was this a measure of in- 



Teaching — The Recitation 213 

struction or of discipline ? How would you rank this device as a 
means of accomplishing the purpose of the recitation ? 

17. Select from your own work or an observed lesson a question 
which brought an unexpected answer ; account for the answer. 

18. Illustrate from your own work or that of another teacher 
five good questions ; five poor questions. 

19. To determine their variety, copy the questions asked by a 
teacher whose schoolroom you visit. List the initial words of all 
questions. Ask some one to make a similar study of your ques- 
tions. What per cent are 

(a) What, when, and where questions? 
{b) How and why questions ? 

20. Copy five or ten minutes of classroom work, showing as 
nearly as possible exactly what is said by pupils and teacher. Have 
a similar record of your own work made ; in what way is this record 
different from what you expected ? 

(a) Many teachers overwork certain words; one used "all 
right" nearly two hundred times in forty minutes; another says 
"of course" in nearly every sentence. What expression are you 
using too often? 

(b) How many questions a minute does the above record show ? 
What is the relation of the number of questions to effectiveness in 
instruction ? 

(c) In this observation and record, what are the commonest 
defects in the answers of the pupils? When do you consider a 
question well answered ? 

21. By use of an ordinary watch estimate during several five- 
minute periods the amount of time used by the teacher and by 
the pupils. A little practice will enable you to do this with a fair 
degree of accuracy by drawing a line, above which is placed time 
used by the teacher and below that used by pupils : 

e.g. Teacher 20 25 40 25 66 Total seconds 176 
Pupil 10 10 I 521 Total seconds 47 



214 ^^^ Work of the Teacher 

What proportion of the time is used by the teacher ? Other things 
being equal, would you prefer the recitation in which pupils used 
two minutes in two answers or in ten ? Why ? 

2 2. The following excerpts from recitation records represent 
the work of experienced and "successful" teachers. What faults 
are most readily discoverable? 

(a) All right ; we'll discuss that later. What is a line? 

(Attempted answer) 
Now what is a line? 

(Answer given) 
All right ; now we had to make . . . 

(Remark) 
All right ; now go up two inches . . . 

(Direction was complied with) 
All right ; now what makes you think those lines will meet ? 

(Good argument produced by several pupils) 
All right ; use two as a base. 

(Construction continued) 
All right ; let's use six inches. 

(Construction continued) 
All right; Truman, is three inches always three inches? 

Yes. 
Can it be any shorter? 

No. 
All right ; then you'll agree. 

Yes. 

(b) All right ; what is it like? 

A plain. 
Yes, a plain. Would it be as productive as a plain? 

No, because it is too cold. 
All right ; have you heard of the Himalaya Mountains? 

(No answer) 



I 



Teaching — The Recitation 215 

Find them on the map. Have you ever heard of the Himalaya 
Mountains ? 
No. 
They are the highest, or one of their peaks, Mount Everest, is 
the highest mountain in the world. 

All right; what about the Caucasus Mountains? Where are 
they? 

(Located) 
All right ; have you found them ? Between what seas are they? 

{Correct answer given) 
All right ; we have spoken about the rivers and the mountains 
and the plains. What about the climate ? 
Ifs hot in the southern part. 
What about the northern part? See the Arctic circle? 

It's cold. 
All right ; if it extends from the Arctic circle almost to the equator 
would its climate all be alike? 
No. 
All right. 

(c) Ran away from the masters into the slave? (States). 

He would put him under? (Arrest). 

According to the authority of the? (Law). 

All states must form their laws according to what? (The con- 
stitution.) If the laws do not agree, they must change it so it will 
agree with the? (Constitution), and the constitution could not 
be changed unless they got a direct vote of the? (People). 

23. The McMurry standards of judging efficiency of instruction 
are provision for initiative, motivation, judging values, and organ- 
ization of subject matter by pupils. With these in mind and so 
far as possible ignoring technical correctness in such details as 
questioning, use of correct language, and -posture of teacher or 
pupils, estimate recitations in several content subjects. 

24. By means of this brief scale for observation of class work 



2i6 The Work of the Teacher 

estimate typical recitations of several teachers. To prevent undue 
attention to particular phases the scale is weighted ; that is, each 
observation phase is given a number of points, the total being loo. 

Points 

1. External conditions under control of teacher : seating, 
posture, discipline 5 

2. Economy of time : 

Getting started, managing teaching accessories ... 5 

3. Use of illustrative material including the blackboard . . 5 

4. Organization of lesson and plan 25 

5. Explanation, telling by teacher 25 

6. Questioning 15 

7. Proper distinction as to character of lesson testing, drill, 
instruction, appreciation 10 

8. Motivation and attitude of class 10 

Make a similar weighted scale for your own use. 

25. An old teaching maxim, excellent when properly understood, 
says: "Teach but one thing at a time." How would the maxim 
apply in the following cases? 

(a) A pupil who reads objectively, hesitatingly, and too slowly 
has "gotten on the track" for a few sentences and is reading more 
readily than usual ; he pronounces ndtional, national. Should the 
teacher interrupt to give the correct pronunciation ? 

{h) A pupil who is wrestling with an arithmetic problem, the 
process work of which he hardly understands, makes a few poorly " 
shaped figures. Compare the loss in neatness through the opera- 
tion of the habit law if such slovenly work is not corrected with the 
loss in understanding if correction of the improper forms is made. 

26. After comparing several sets of textbooks in arithmetic, 
language, spelling, and geography choose in each subject the book 
you would prefer, giving specifically its advantages. 

27. A favorite device used by public speakers to hold attention 



Teaching — The Recitation 217 

is modulation of the voice. Observe the use of the same means by 
experienced classroom teachers. Which seems to secure the maxi- 
mum of attention — loud or low tones ? 

28. Can you tell a story so well that those not compelled to listen 
because of politeness or the force of school discipline will hear you 
through ? Find and tell stories to illustrate for lower grade classes 
each of these proverbs : 

(a) The less said the sooner mended. 

(Z>) They laugh best who laugh last, 

(c) Haste makes waste. 

{d) Leave well enough alone. 

29. Evaluate each of these devices : 

(a) Having pupils ask each other questions at the close of the 
recitation. 

{b) Requiring pupils to stand in answering questions, 

(c) Insisting that all answers shall be in complete sentences. 

{d) Allowing a pupil to read aloud until the other members of his 
class find a mistake in his reading. 

30. The accompanying part of a lesson plan has for its purpose 
the development of an understanding of insurance. It is included 
to show the pivotal questions (*), the anticipated answers (**), and 
the actual answers given by pupils in italics. Notice that the ex- 
pected answers were usually elicited without the aid of many sup- 
plementary questions. Make a similar plan for teaching some other 
subject in arithmetic. 

Lesson Plan on Fire Insurance 

In the fire down town who were the losers ? 

{Mr. Tffwnsend, Mr. Kessler, Mr. Murphy from fire, and others 
from water.) 
* How may loss by fire be avoided? 
**(By making fireproof buildings, being careful, and by insur- 
ance.) 



2i8 The Work of the Teacher 

Fire wagon. 
By fireproof buildings. 
By insurance. 

That wouldn't keep it from burning. 

*What difiference between your meaning when you say care pre- 
vents loss and when you say insurance does ? 
** (If you are careful, things don't burn up ; if you have insur- 
ance, they may burn up but some one else has to pay 
the bill ; the insurance company does it.) 
In being careful the building may burn up, but insure means you pay 

a company and they will pay you if it gets destroyed. 
*How does an insurance company get its money? What does 
insure mean? 
** (People pay to have buildings insured ; insure means that the 
company will pay for that building when it burns.) 
Why, lots of times buildings don't burn down and sometimes people 

pay a long time. 
You said sometimes they didn't burn. What does insure mean, 

Bertha? 
I don't know. 

Why, yes, you do. If you had a house and insured it — just tell 
what you think it means. [Another pupil explained.] 

* What causes a person to think a building might burn ? 

** (They don't exactly think it will, but it might.) 
If fire gets started, sometimes it is awfully hard to put out. 
Sometimes a flue is bad. 
Well, they don't know that it will, but it might. 
This building wouldn't burn much, would it? Papa says under the 
floor it is all cement. 

* If it were perfectly certain that a building would burn or that 

it would not, how much insurance would there be? 
**(If the owner knew his building would not burn, he would not 
pay money for insurance ; if the insurance company knew 



Teaching — The Recitation 219 

it would burn it would not agree to pay for it, so there 
could be no insurance.) 
Only a little. 

There wouldnH he any; it would he a waste of money. 
They canH know. 
Then it seems there must always be an uncertainty about there 

being a fire if there is to be insurance. This is called a risk. 

Insuring property is called taking a risk. 
Is that why life insurance companies will not insure soldiers — be- 
cause of the risk ? 
Yes. The money paid for taking a risk is called the premium. 

Tell me what insurance is. 
7^'^ the amount of money paid in case of loss. 
*Name some conditions that would increase the risk, Thelma. 

Bertha. 
**(Wooden building, wooden building near, explosives, location 
where fire protection is poor.) 
Oh, wooden huildings. 
Frame huildings with defective flue. 

Straw in the mortar; that was the trouhle in the first building. 
Any building not rock outside if it is near a factory where big fire is. 
Yes, relation to other buildings ; in the row of buildings on Main 

Street you saw how they burned in a row. 
If a man saw a fire coming down the line to his building, could he go 

then and get insurance? 
The company would be likely to have better sense than to do that ; 

compare the risk in a small town and in a city. 
A small town has no good fire department. 

In the city they have a ladder that folds out as high as this building. 
In the city they have fire wagons for every division. 
In Chicago they have a fire wagon that looks like this. [Boy stepped 

to board and made a drawing.] 
Mr. Smith said he saw sixteen fire wagons go to one fire in Kansas 

City. 



220 The Work of the Teacher 

Compare factories with dwelling houses as to danger. 

The factory is more likely to burn because of the materials they use. 

In a powder factory fire is very likely. 

* How would such conditions affect the premium ? 

** (The greater the risk the higher the premium.) 
The greater the risk the greater the premium. 
If the risk is great, they charge a greater rate. 

* How much insurance would the owner be likely to take on a 

building worth ten thousand dollars? 
**(If he could take more than it was worth, he might set fire to 
it ; the company would not take a risk as big as the value 
of the property.) 
Usually they try to take a little more than it is worth. 
No, they donH either. 

What if he were allowed to insure for all he wanted to? 
Ten thousand or more. 

He might take eleven thousand or twelve thousand. 
The company would lose. 
He might burn it himself. 
But he could be prosecuted. 
CanH you burn your own building ? 
Not to get your insurance. 
Well, we had a neighbor who had an old building and he set it afire, 

some people thought. 

* Property is usually insured for about two thirds or three fourths 

of its value. How do you suppose the men whose stores were 
destroyed get their money? 
**(They would take the agreement or promise of the company 
and claim their money.) 
Go and collect it. 
Just get it. 

They would have to have proof, wouldn't they? 
They have to have a man come from the company to see how much is 
lost. 



Teaching — The Recitation 221 

What if the paper got destroyed ? 

The company has a record. 

What if the company is not honest ? 

People are not wise to insure in a company that is not honest. 

The agreement is called a policy ; when one insures property, he is 
said to be taking out a policy for whatever the amount is. 

Summary was then made including policy, insure, insurance, pre- 
mium, and a few simple examples proposed for solution. 
Pupils were then asked to make up insurance examples. 

Readings 

Adams : Exposition and Illustration in Teaching, 17-36, 11, IV, X, 
Xn-XVI (Illustration). 

Bagley : Classroom Management, XIII. 

Bagley: Educative Process, XIX, XX (Induction, deduction). 

Betts : The Recitation. 

Charters : Methods of Teaching, III, IV (Subject matter and aims). 

Colgrove : The Teacher and the School, XVIII (Daily preparation). 

Colvin and Bagley : Human Behavior, XI (Habit) ; XVII (Econ- 
omy in learning). 

Dresslar: School Hygiene, XX (Hygiene of instruction). 

Home : Story-telling, Questioning and Studying, II (Questioning). 

Keith: Elementary Education: 1 51-163 (Questioning). 

Stevens : The Question as a Measure of Efficiency in Instruction. 

Strayer: The Teaching Process, IV- VI, VII (Appreciation), X, 
XI, XVI (Lesson plans). 

Thorndike : Education, VI, VIII-X. 



CHAPTER VIII 
TEACHING — THE STUDY PERIOD 

What study means. Study as commonly used means the 
part of the teaching-learning process which is principally 
carried on by the pupil with a minimum of immediate par- 
ticipation by the teacher. Accepting this interpretation of 
the term, the writer assumes the common picture which comes 
to the teacher's mind when study is mentioned, — that of a 
pupil seated at a school desk with a book before him, more or 
less seriously intent upon acquiring information, memorizing 
or fixing habits by repetition, or solving problems. 

In most schools children spend a great deal of their time in 
exactly this occupation while the teacher's attention is given 
to a reciting class ; it is probable that no phase of classroom 
activity is more in need of serious consideration than this of 
the pupil's contact with books, almost universally associated 
with " study." It is conceded that in no school exercise is 
there greater waste ; none is harder to analyze and discuss 
pointedly, and for no part of his work is the typical teacher 
less prepared than directing and supervising study. It is 
sometimes said that the purpose of the school is to make the 
teacher unnecessary, that the better he is the sooner he 
eliminates himself from the pupil's needs. All such state- 
ments, which are at least partly true, presuppose that one 
important purpose of the school is to give pupils power to do 



Teaching — The Study Period 223 

independent work with books. Granting the foregoing as- 
sumptions, essential conditions for study will first be con- 
sidered. 

Essential conditions for study, i. Motivation. Study 
outside of school occurs only in the presence of a felt need, 
varying in its immediateness from the feverish reading of a 
time-table by an anxious traveler to the more steady interest 
of the research student intent upon finding how the ancients 
conducted their government. In either case the one who 
studies is somewhat vitally concerned with, or zealous about 
a problem which, for his own clearly perceived purposes, he 
is endeavoring to solve, or he would use his time for another 
purpose. 

In spite of many interesting resemblances, the schoolroom 
study situation is usually quite different ; and only exaggerated 
notions of the value of a good device result in the claim that 
pupils should ideally study only problems whose solutions 
are necessary elements in their play or in accusation that the 
school which does not make unlimited opportunity for juvenile 
research has failed to provide proper motivation. Upon the 
somewhat rare occasions when pupils become conscious of 
their own life problems which they must solve, the force of 
interest is not sufficient to secure sustained activity in the 
solution. Instead of problems arising spontaneously, it re- 
quires all the teacher's ingenuity to present problems which 
the pupil must adopt as his own, and then to furnish the sus- 
taining element of this adopted interest until something worth 
while has been accomplished for the child. 

A skillful teacher is able to present the necessary school 
tasks in such a way that the pupil is hardly aware of the 
divergence between what he needs and what the school in- 



224 The Work of the Teacher 

sists he shall care for; unskillful teaching makes the pupil 
feel keenly that he is studying under compulsion, which is 
little better for his intellectual appetite and assimilation than 
to be made to eat when not hungry. The problem form of 
assignment, already discussed, has the advantage of lending 
itself to reshaping as the pupil's own matter for investigation. 
" How to make fudge," readily becomes, " How I may make 
fudge " ; " How to plan a picnic," is easily transformed into, 
" How I shall prepare for the picnic next week." The fore- 
going are much better than '' Fudge-making " or " Prepara- 
tion for picnics," simply because they are more easily appro- 
priated by individual pupils. 

In the field of doing or making things it is not especially 
difficult to formulate such problems. In another class of 
subjects, such as geography, history, and literature, the pupil 
may often be led to a vicarious interest — imagining himself 
in the place of some race or character with a problem to solve. 
As soon, however, as more remote though not less vital ma- 
terial must be acquired, it is often impossible to identify 
closely with the pupils' present needs material which he must 
nevertheless study long and earnestly in the prospect of some 
future demand. Examples readily recognized are the multi- 
plication tables, most spelling exercises, vocabularies and 
poetry memorized. Recognizing practical limitations, it 
should be the purpose of the teacher to keep the pupil study- 
ing his own problems whenever possible, and to make it 
natural for him to adopt and work out the human problems 
encountered in the subject matter of his study. The less 
material accumulated merely because its mastery is required, 
the more effective is the motivation for effort. Partial atten- 
tion and wandering energy easily develop when the pupil 



Teaching — The Study Period 225 

has no intrinsic or adopted interest, neither a problem of his 
own nor one borrowed, and is merely preparing answers to 
possible questions of the teacher. 

2. Concentration. Concentration upon what is being 
studied is essential. Study is serious, zealous, persistent ; 
it is often accompanied by physical tension, frowning or 
vigorous movements of lips or setting of the teeth. Other 
things being equal, the stronger the interest, the greater the 
degree of concentration. But with approximately equal 
motivation pupils differ widely in abiUty to give sustained 
attention. All should at least be made to realize the im- 
portance of this power and led, so far as possible, to acquire 
it. By stories of men of genius whose attainments have de- 
pended upon their abihty to pursue a problem, oblivious of 
things external, the pupil may be led to see that nothing has 
ever been accomplished by flighty or dissipated application; 
in a sense this is building an incentive for sustained and un- 
divertible effort. 

Much may be improved in the external conditions which 
often disturb during the study hour. A genius may lose him- 
self in a mathematical theorem while walking through a busy 
street ; most pupils are interrupted in study by the presence 
of a reciting class, by every request to borrow a book, for help 
in spelling a word, or for information about the assignment 
of tomorrow's lesson. Skillful management reduces such 
interruptions to a minimum by noise-saving signals, devoting 
definite times to preparation for work during which all pen- 
cils, pens, ink, reference books, and other materials are made 
ready, and by intelligent anticipation in assignments of 
questions likely to be asked. Should any one believe that 
pupils by practice become able to overcome the impulse call- 

Q 



226 The Work of the Teacher 

ing for response to disturbances, it may be said that repeated 
opportunity for sustained and undivided effort is the best 
way to develop concentration. 

3. Recognition of the nature of the lesson being studied. 
Recognition of the nature of the lesson in hand is of vital 
importance. If material is to be memorized, it becomes 
principally a question of economic procedure ; the selection 
should be understood and then committed by the " whole " 
rather than by the " part " method. That is, reading a 
poem or paragraph through a sufficient number of times to 
fix it is more economical and more likely to result in perma- 
nent impression than learning a stanza or a sentence at a time. 
In acquiring a process, as in arithmetic, it is often wise to 
neglect reasons for some steps, understanding being gradually 
achieved through application of the process. With an oc- 
casional pupil the best procedure is to discourage reasoning 
at first by some such advice as, " Most of the others seem to 
be solving these examples ; suppose you solve all in this lesson 
and maybe you will see through them. If you do not, we shall 
talk about them again after you have learned just what you 
have done each time." And there are a few processes, like 
the inverting of the divisor in division of fractions, upon 
which time spent in explanation is, to most classes, idle waste. 

On the other hand, it is equally idle as well as wastefully 
mechanical to memorize exact words of a text when thought, 
reason, or appreciation are involved, as in story telling or 
subjects like history and geography. Pupils who find these 
difficult often are those who work very hard at memorizing 
whole sections of textbooks, but are able to make little analysis 
of what they are doing. A pupil need not be very far ad- 
vanced before he can begin to discriminate among lessons 



Teaching — The Study Period 227 

and choose his method of study according to the character 
of the task before him. Guided by a skillful teacher or a 
succession of skillful teachers who direct attention to the 
necessity of adapting method of attack to the nature of the 
subject matter, the kind of study waste mentioned in this 
paragraph should be mostly eliminated by the time the pupil 
reaches the upper grades of the elementary school. 

Related to the types of lesson and its proper attack is the 
question of mental attitude, quite fully discussed by McMurry. 
Should a pupil accept without question, reject, doubt, or hold 
in suspended judgment, and verify the statements of his les- 
son? Clearly, study which involves memorizing or fixing 
a process leaves no great scope for rejection or doubt ; chal- 
lenging the elementary combinations in number work or the 
word order in a classic is a waste of time. But there is op- 
portunity in most content subjects to develop an open-minded 
attitude as opposed to servile acceptance of what is written 
or dogmatic rejection of what has not yet been experienced. 
Since liberal-minded citizens must be open-minded, teachers 
should early cultivate the attitude. 

4. Memorizing an important element in study, a. Intelli- 
gent recognition of the part played by memory needed. Memory 
power is essential for study. The abuse of memorizing by 
poor teachers, requiring pupils to commit useless or poorly 
selected materials, and the need of emphasis upon other mental 
activities has led to a vast decrying of memory work. Of 
exercises which require memorizing many teachers speak 
rather apologetically as something which they cannot do 
without but of which they are none the less heartily ashamed. 
" Memorizing should be a by-product," we are told, which 
is very true to the extent that learning incidentally or some- 



228 The Work oj the Teacher 

what unconsciously is a good plan — provided essentials are 
thoroughly acquired. 

But while widespread discussion of memorizing has effect- 
ively changed school work for the better it has also resulted 
in much superficial teaching, half learning of what should be 
completely mastered, or learning for the day what should be 
fixed for life. No one defends exclusively memoriter methods, 
but stronger teaching would result from the recognition of 
the important role played in education by memory. 

Acquiring the multiplication table, " the most difficult 
achievement in all the realm of mathematics," is simply an 
enormous feat of memorizing rendered less impossible, to be 
sure, by many convenient associations. Songs and poems 
become ours only through memorizing, and that of the 
rote or unreasoning type, ; since their beauty depends upon 
a series of euphonious words and is entirely spoiled by 
" giving the thought in one's own words." All attempts 
to eliminate the necessity of memorizing English spelling 
by reducing it to a reasonable basis are doomed to failure 
because the spelling itself (is unreasonable. No one ever 
became a good speller by means "of rules or dependence upon 
the sounds of words unless he was also able to remember 
some thousands of exceptions. The words of a vocabulary, 
English or foreign, are memorized. Even geometry — the 
age-long agent for developing " reasoning power " — depends 
upon memorizing, since no one can well prove a theorem 
unless he recalls what is to be proved as well as some of the 
steps of proof. 

h. Original retentive power not capable of direct improvement. 
For the improvement of poor retentive power due to original 
nature, teachers can do nothing. While some pupils lack 



Teaching — The Study Period 229 

ability to retain in all fields, poor remembering usually shows 
itself quite specifically in certain relationships or subjects ; 
one pupil remembers dates, another colors, and a third geo- 
metrical forms. In these cases memory seems to follow 
interests due to experience ; " attention is the stuff which 
memory is made of." In general one remembers what seems 
important; the teachers' work is to widen the province of 
what the pupil cares for, to show him that a wide variety of 
things is worth caring for and remembering. 

c. Memorizing aided by economical organization. The 
teacher may improve memory phases of the pupil's work by 
making economical organization of subject matter, utilizing 
associations by teaching together what should be recalled at 
the same time. Analysis of the types of material which must 
be memorized sometimes points the way more clearly to 
means of directing the studying pupil. 

Memorizing may be (i) of purely arbitrary character, in 
the case of facts such as, " Columbus was born in Genoa " or 
" He sailed toward America in 1492," or " Twelve is a dozen ;" 
(2) it may embrace conclusions based upon reasoning ; as, 

" Brazil has a warm moist climate " (because ), in 

which the pupil should be expected not only to recall what he 
needs, but to connect it with what already has been learned. 
It is evident that such memorizing is principally giving 
meaning to the arbitrarily learned material of the preceding 
type. (3) Sometimes it is necessary to memorize a chain of 
reasoning rather than either facts or conclusions, as in the 
development of mathematical formulas in which each step 
suggests the next, long division being the best example, per- 
haps, in arithmetic. While the pupil cannot be expected to 
make any such analysis of his own work, the teacher who can 



230 The Work of the Teacher 

is the more capable of formulating study questions and in- 
telligently directing. 

In addition to what already has been said about economy 
of the whole rather than the part method in memorizing, 
the laws of forgetting show the necessity for repetition of 
what is to be retained at gradually lengthened intervals. 
That one impression is seldom sufficient to insure recall is 
made evident in the familiar experience of forgetting a story 
heard but once. Though remembered as a good story, one 
struggles in vain to recall it. The same story heard two or 
three times, or listened to and then told, is acquired so thor- 
oughly that it may be recalled at will. It is one of the merits 
of history courses arranged in cycles by which each character, 
event, and epoch is presented more than once that recall is 
far more likely to occur. To assure repetition of memorized 
material at lengthening intervals until there is scant proba- 
bility of its being soon forgotten is within the province of the 
classroom teacher. 

Mnemonic devices are helpful enough to some pupils to 
receive notice by teachers, though it is easy to overrate their 
value since many find the device an additional load to carry. 
" Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November " ; 
the meaningless word v-i-b-g-y-o-r for recalling the order 
in the solar spectrum, wolet, mdigo, 61ue, green, 3;ellow, 
orange, and red ; f-a-c-e corresponding to the spaces in a 
musical score, are examples familiar to most teachers. 
The fact that one may feel no need of such props does not 
signify that none should be used. In any school, it may 
be reiterated, are many minds that operate in their own 
peculiar way, which is little likely to be exactly the teacher's 
method. 



Teaching — The Study Period 231 

Suggestions for making the study period effective, i . Mak- 
ing study a serious undertaking. Convince pupils, by vigorous 
means if necessary, that study is an important matter, to be 
taken seriously and worked at persistently. This may be 
done by incisive questioning which reveals half-done tasks 
or failure to improve time, and by general attitude of taking 
it for granted that work must be done. 

2. Stimulate interest in learning with the least possible ex- 
penditure of time. Develop in pupils ability to discriminate 
between actual study and the total amount of time used in 
preparing a lesson, including looking about the room or out 
of the window. In the case of home study help the pupil 
who honestly thinks he spends two hours in study to separate 
conversations, telephone calls, errands, and even brief naps 
from the time reckoned as school work. It is but natural 
that pupils should expect to please the teacher by reports 
of many hours spent upon lessons ; the teacher often does 
well to place a premium upon learning in the least possible 
time instead of the greatest. 

What has been said concerning concentration indicates 
that it is much better to reward the pupil whose application 
enables him to learn a lesson in twenty minutes than the 
dawdler who uses, or thinks he does, two hours for the same 
piece of work. " You spent a long time upon this lesson and 
it is well learned " has its place ; so has *' You spent two hours 
upon this lesson ; how did you do it ? most pupils could learn 
it thoroughly in half that time." By employing such means 
it should be possible to substitute short periods of intensive 
effort for more relaxed application extended over too long a 
time. Teachers sometimes countenance a dilatory attitude 
in the belief that a preliminary warming-up period is neces- 



232 The Work of the Teacher 

sary before work begins. If the first part of the study period 
yields poor results, it seems more than probable that all loss 
may be accounted for in terms of the time required to put 
away gloves, bring stray pencils from obscure pockets, and the 
moral unreadiness to attack which makes all beginnings 
difficult, rather than because of any uncontrollable psycholog- 
ical factors. 

3. The waste of underlearning. Effort expended in under- 
learning represents enormous though unmeasurable waste. 
The laws of learning indicate that the pupil who three-fourths 
learns a lesson has much increased his chances for quick learn- 
ing if he later attempts to master it, but to all present intent 
he has done no more than the laborer who lifts a weight almost 
to its place but, failing to exert the additional strength re- 
quired, is forced to leave it exactly where he found it. It is 
the last few strokes that bring down the tree, the last hundred 
dollars that lift the mortgage. Some pupils have never 
thoroughly learned any lesson ; the teacher who can influence 
one of these to complete a few tasks beyond question may 
not only be opening to him a novel experience, but may be 
fashioning ideals which will in time revolutionize his study 
attitudes. The world is already well supplied with those 
whose highest standard is to " get by to-day." 

4. The waste of overlearning. The waste of overlearning 
is less serious, perhaps, though it concerns a different group 
of pupils, and may be responsible for ills that have not yet 
been clearly perceived. Like underlearning it is still prac- 
tically unmeasurable, though progress in educational measure- 
ments may sometime enable us to determine when a pupil 
should be allowed to desist from further study or practice ; 
our present knowledge of standard requirements may be 



Teaching — The Study Period 233 

applied in the fields of writing and the mechanics of arith- 
metic. It is certainly useless for an eighth grade pupil to 
continue practicing handwriting when he habitually writes 
eighty or more letters a minute as good as quality fifteen of 
the Thorndike scale or the corresponding qualities of other 
well-known measurements. In many upper-grade rooms or 
classes a few pupils are quick and accurate enough to re- 
quire no further practice in addition, and the time devoted 
by them to such work involves a large element of waste. 

Individual teachers may often discover in their own assign- 
ments much opportunity for useless study. In the average 
spelling lesson half the pupils know perfectly the spelling of 
many of the words assigned but dutifully con these over a 
dozen times along with the few which need their attention. 
In many schools the career of such characters as Columbus is 
rehashed upon practically the same plane during several suc- 
ceeding years. In such cases the question suggests itself to the 
thoughtful teacher, " What is gained by reteaching what is 
well known by every member of the class ? And if perchance 
some dullard still does not know, is the gain in teaching him 
sufficient to compensate for the loss in overlearning of the 
other twenty-five? " 

5. PupiVs notebook as a form of study. The waste involved 
in keeping notebooks is very great. They are disliked by 
pupils not alone because they require effort but because much 
of this expenditure of energy is useless or stupid. The teacher 
should determine clearly what the notebook is to accomplish 
and then make it secure that end. Generally speaking, such 
books should be ver}'- much more brief and more closely 
supervised. A notebook which is filled with misspelled words 
or illegible handwriting is developing wrong ideals ; one which 



234 The Work of the Teacher 

contains important information which should be, but is not, 
understood by every pupil is a pleasant delusion. 

Not a few pupils thus carefully preserve in good form 
copious supplies of excellent material of which they remain 
quite ignorant. They are satisfied because the matter is 
disposed of ; but if they have been too busy making note- 
books to find time for study of this material the notebook is 
neither an economical nor strictly honest servant. It may 
even become the master, both teachers and pupils becoming 
slaves to the notebook habit. Every supervisor or school 
visitor of experience has wished for the power to forbid cer- 
tain teachers the employment of the notebook device ; doing 
without this expedient for a year would prove a hard expe- 
rience for many teachers, but it would result in going back 
to it with a much clearer view of its function. " Where 
shall we copy this if we are not to keep notebooks? " some 
pupil asks. "Do not copy it at all ; just think it over or 
learn it," would be an excellent reply more often than some 
teachers give it. 

6. Written work as a form of study. Related to notebook 
making is the habit of studying by writing the lesson, some- 
times several times. There is ample psychological justifica- 
tion for a limited amount of this kind of work but it easily 
degenerates into a fruitless procedure. Merely writing a 
lesson may require a minimum of attention ; it may imply no 
organizing of ideas or sifting of values ; it is often so me- 
chanically done that an evident error is copied ad finem 
capitis. Even handwriting deteriorates very naturally since 
it is not done to be read. When the teacher habitually re- 
quires pupils to spend the study period in copying, the 
excessive amount of the product precludes the possibility of 



Teaching — The Study Period 235 

its being read even when papers are collected. This pupils 
soon learn and become increasingly careless. 

Young teachers whose ingenuity has been exhai^sted in 
trying to insure study from idlers or the mischievous, some- 
times hit upon the expedient of written work for the study 
period. It is so much easier to tell pupils to take very tangible 
paper, pencil, and book and write a given number of per- 
fectly visible lines than to devise situations which will keep 
the pupil better though less evidently occupied. Many a 
teacher has started an irrepressible little mischief-maker upon 
a copying exercise of twenty lines, saying or thinking to him- 
self, " Now I know he will be quiet for half an hour at least." 
Thus what seems to be a study device becomes an expedient 
of discipline. The teacher who keeps a child writing to in- 
sure tolerable behavior should honestly admit that the lesson 
is not being written to be understood or learned but in order 
that the school may have peace. A general reduction in the 
amount of writing required of pupils would in most schools 
be a decided gain. A reasonable consequence of this would 
be closer supervision of all written work. 

7. Home study assignments made with care. Home study 
should be discerningly assigned. Most complaints from 
parents loosely object to the amount of home work required. 
Doubtless teachers have often made unreasonable demands ; 
pupils below the fifth grade in most schools need little or no 
home study, with the gradual increase in the upper grades 
until an hour a day is not an unreasonable expectation for 
most eighth-grade pupils. So far as the quantity of the home 
work is concerned, as much parental -complaint probably 
occurs because of too httle as too great requirements, for 
many fathers and mothers fail to realize the necessity of 



236 The Work of the Teacher 

play and relaxation for younger children, and are never better 
pleased than when all, irrespective of age, bring home books 
for study. 

More general and serious than the fault of expecting too 
much home work is that of sending home the wrong kind of 
lessons to be prepared. Parents of keen perceptions complain 
that they do all the teaching, leaving only the quizzing for 
the teacher. Of course if teachers did more teaching and 
spent less time in quizzing, this would show very quickly in 
the character of the home work. As a rule nothing should be 
sent home for study unless it is understood ; the pupil meeting 
a difficulty at school may ask the teacher for help, or consult 
a dictionary or reference work. It is not the part of wisdom 
to presuppose any of these helps in the home ; nor is it safe 
to expect that the parent will be able or even willing to take 
the place of the teacher in answering questions. The fortu- 
nate pupil whose parents aid in his study has an unfair advan- 
tage unless he is helped so much as to discourage his efiforts. 

There is the added danger that matters but meagerly 
comprehended will be hopelessly confused by what appears 
to the child to be an entirely different method. Many teachers 
of arithmetic have found their instruction troubles increased 
by the home experience of the pupil who says, " My father 
knows a shorter way than that." Mental distress of pupils 
honestly unable to understand and with no source from which 
to secure aid, and the impossibility of exacting from a pupil 
preparation which he may with a show of reason insist was 
beyond his comprehension, are other objectionable conse- 
quences of careless home study demands. 

Lists of words to be spelled, selections to be memorized, 
formal drill exercises in numbers, applications of principles 



Teaching — The Study Period 237 

well understood, and general reading with familiar vocabulary- 
are examples of the right kind of home study work. The 
first reading of a difficult selection, new processes in arith- 
metic, and most other lessons should not be sent home for 
preparation unless carefully planned and previewed. 

8. Supervised study. Observation has convinced some 
writers that the wastes of the ordinary study hour and of 
home work indicate that all study should be supervised by 
the teacher. This would necessitate reorganization of graded 
schools ; it is at present an ideal impossible of attainment 
in most country schools. To eliminate home study by this 
means the length of the school day would need to be in- 
creased slightly. 

Greater than these problems of necessary readjustment 
would be that of finding teachers skilled in supervising study. 
Where the plan has been tried some teachers conceive their 
function to be monitorial, — that of preserving discipline 
and keeping pupils at work. Necessary as these are, the 
teacher who finds time to knit, read extensively, or prepare 
a university extension lesson while supervising a class of 
studying pupils confesses by attitude a very inadequate 
conception of the work. Stated briefly the problem is to 
help the pupil in need without pauperizing him, that is, 
depriving him of ability to help himself through undue de- 
pendence upon the teacher. The study supervisor should 
usually find the pupil in need of help and then render him 
the assistance needed rather than that asked. To do this 
requires not alone thorough acquaintance with every pupil 
but a knowledge of mental laws as well.' Some of the bear- 
ings of psychology upon effective study are discussed in the 
last paragraph of this section. 



238 The Work of the Teacher 

9. Utilization of play instincts and incidental possibilities 
in study. To achieve the result of serious study by utiliza- 
tion of play instincts or incidental means not systematically 
organized or provided for is one of the marks of an alert 
teacher. It is better to interest a pupil in a tongue-twisting 
exercise like 

Amidst the mists and coldest frosts, 
With barest wrists and stoutest boasts, 

He thrusts his fists against the posts, 
And still insists he sees the ghosts, 

knowing that he will before he is through with his fun try it 
upon most of his playmates, as well as every member of the 
home circle, than to ask him to practice a group of such com- 
binations half an hour to improve his articulation. The 
teacher who fails to utilize the puzzle instinct of children by 
use of the magic square arrangements such as the one ac- 
companying is losing an opportunity to secure the result of 
study through play. 



I 


15 


4 


14 


12 


6 


9 


7 


13 


3 


16 


2 


8 


10 


5 


II 



In addition to the usual up and down, right and left, and crisscross addi- 
tions, notice that any square of four numbers adds thirty-four. 

Most persons receive important scraps of their education 
through vagrant eyes casually directed upon whatever chances 
to be within the field of vision. In the same way all of 
us pay tribute to advertising and business catchwords by 
memorizing without effort. The old-fashioned school motto 
left quite incidentally many fine sentiments woven into the. 



Teaching — The Stvdy Period 239 

lives of the present generation. Material such as memory 
gems and simple mathematical formulas may be economi- 
cally and almost unconsciously acquired by being kept before 
pupils for some time and receiving occasional notice. Such 
flitting means are hardly more fatiguing than surveying 
figures upon wall paper, counting flaws and markings upon 
the windowpane, and similar exercises in which most pupils 
spend a very considerable amount of time. Many teachers 
could turn to fuller account blackboard space by using it for 
semi-permanent material to be learned casually. 

Elimination of typical specified wastes in study. The 
closing section of this chapter is devoted to suggestions con- 
cerning typical difficulties encountered by studying pupils, 
and their diagnosis and elimination by teachers. Increased 
attention to this field should soon result in more intelligent 
insight. Effective study supervision, granting the applica- 
tion of a few general principles, must remain the problem of 
each teacher aiding specifically each pupil. 

I. Inability of pupils to read. a. Unfamiliar words. The 
commonest difficulty encountered by pupils is inabiUty to 
read. The problem in arithmetic is misunderstood, not be- 
cause it presents insuperable mathematical puzzles but be- 
cause of the presence of unfamiliar words, baffling sentence 
structure, or irrelevant elements. In the accompanying 
illustration the computation involved is the same, but the 
second problem presents the greater difficulty because the 
irrelevant " twenty " and less familiar " employees " are 
complicating factors. 

(i) A force of men can clear the snow from one hundred cross- 
ings in an hour ; how long will it take the same force to clear five 
hundred crossings? 



240 The Work of the Teacher 

(2) A force of twenty employees can clear the snow from one 
hundred crossings in an hour ; how long will it require the same 
force to clear five hundred crossings? 

h. Result of eye defects or wrong grouping. Difficulties in 
reading are sometimes the result of eye defects or subtle 
mental peculiarities resulting in inability to make accurate 
perceptions or note minor differences and similarities. Ex- 
amples familiar to every primary teacher are failures to dis- 
criminate between d and h, m and w, p and q, on and no, was 
and saw. Word recognition is often rendered difficult by 
apparently fantastic groupings of letters ; the child who 
spells h- double 00- double kk- double ee, p-i-n-g or mac- 
hin-ery seems to be making himself obstacles ; so does the 
third-grade pupil who reads : His brow is wet with honey 
sweet. (His brow is wet with honest sweat.) 

c. Persistence of familiar meanings. What may be called 
the inertia of apperception results in study waste. With 
many pupils acquisition of significance of a word or a symbol 
renders it difficult to modify its meaning or even to recognize 
it in changed relationships. A pupil finding in his history 
lesson the statement " it was the intention of Lord Balti- 
more to found an asylum for the persecuted religious sect " 
repeated in all seriousness to the class, " He intended to build 
an asylum to keep this sect in." " While at school the poet 
lived on a guinea a week," is a further illustration. Careful 
study of lessons and pupils renders it possible to anticipate 
and prevent such mistakes. 

2. Useless correlations and needless imagery. A similar 
source of waste is the tendency to carry meanings or imagery 
quite useless to the situation at hand. Young teachers first 
acquainted with the idea of correlation sometimes develop 



Teaching — The Stiidy Period 241 

the notion that all or a large number of the meanings of every 
term must be followed out whenever it is mentioned. Study 
of the physiological effects of coffee is not aided by suddenly 
recalling its price or describing the geographic areas in which 
it is produced. Likewise a coffee problem in arithmetic 
gains no value in meaning by referring to its taste, smell, or 
effect upon the nervous system. The spelling of cake is not 
related to its shape or sweetness. Loss rather than gain is 
the result of thus forgetting the specific aim of what is being 
taught. It is the province of the teacher to discourage — 
certainly not to cause all such vagrant tendencies which are 
so natural to young pupils who must learn to follow one line 
of thought. 

A further illustration of the same tendency may be seen 
in the inability of the pupil to free his thinking from concrete 
and too specific meanings. The admitted necessity of pass- 
ing through a concrete stage sometimes blinds the teacher 
to the fact that an essential distinction between a high order 
of thinking ability and lower accomplishment is power to 
deal with abstractions through their symbols. The abacus 
stage in some form may not be omitted but it should be passed 
through. Objective methods are indispensable in mastering 
the elementary combinations, but the pupil who continues to 
image or count apples, horses, or dollars as he combines 
addends has remained upon the mental plane of a six-year- 
old in dragging with him useless concrete imagery. A com- 
mon and persistent case of this form of arrested development 
is the pupil who " dots " or counts his fingers in computation ; 
in this instance too long continued dependence upon the 
tangible has fixed a mischievous and time-consuming habit. 
It should be the concern of the teacher to see that the pupil 



242 The Work of the Teacher 

soon reaches the stage of ignoring the quantities for which 
digits stand and " juggles symbols " mechanically. 

A further illustration of the tendency of a non-essential 
element of a complex to persist as part of a meaning may be 
verified by almost any teacher who asks a class to name 
figures 1,2, and 3. Because of the position of model figures 
in most textbooks, as well as the drawings of many teachers, 
some pupils are nearly always found who insist that figures 2 
and 3 are not trapezoids though the three figures are identical. 



n:\ 



^ZJ 



Figure I Figure 2 Figure 3 

3. Studying without recognized plan. Pupils should gradu- 
ally become conscious of their method of study. Most in- 
vestigations show that studying children think of the necessity 
of freedom from interruption ; some consider the importance 
of looking up unfamiliar terms ; a few systematically preview 
the entire task before taking up its steps ; and a smaller num- 
ber know the value of reflection, methodical review, and or- 
ganization of what has been studied. All these represent wise 
procedure and though it is quite possible to practice economical 
study measures without being able to recognize or explain 
them, it seems probable that a few hours spent in discussing 
plans of study would improve the working habits of most 
successful pupils, benefit immeasurably those who are victims 
of uneconomical habits, and by degrees develop alertness to 
discover better modes of working. 



Teaching — The Study Period 243 

What the form of attack should be naturally varies with 
the character of the subject matter. If it is a problem or 
can be stated as one it is well to become conscious of the 
problem approach somewhat as follows : 
(i) Given 

(2) To find 

(3) Procedure 

(4) Verification 
or more simply, 

(i) What is it that I must do, or find out? 

(2) What does the problem (situation, book) tell me? 

(3) How can I use what it tells to solve the problem? 
(Answer the questions, do what is required.) 

A variant device consists of writing in one column what is 
known about the problem ; in another what is not but must 
be, thus directing attention to what is given and what is re- 
quired. What has been said with reference to suiting the 
method in recitation to character of subject matter applies 
equally here. 

Use of textbooks in the study period. Economical use of 
textbooks requires thorough comprehension of their plan and 
peculiarities of arrangement. Some are faulty in organiza- 
tion, content, and mode of expression. It is an obligation 
of the teacher to protect pupils from loss owing to these short- 
comings ; however, complaining of the badness of textbooks 
in the presence of young pupils who are to study them is a 
peculiarly unjustifiable action even for a teacher who could 
make better books. If the pupil takes the teacher's atti- 
tude at all seriously he is likely to reason, " If the book is so 
bad, why study it? " 

With the best of books much of the pupils' study hour could 



244 The Work of the Teacher 

be improved to better advantage ; a few of the wastes which 
characterize textbook study and suggestions for their elimina- 
tion are offered here. 

1. Study topics rather than pages or chapters. Pupils, often 
the most painstaking, expend energy needlessly in completing 
formal units of subject matter, such as pages or chapters. 
Reading a given amount of space may indicate poor conception 
of the subject or an ideal of finishing anything begun, from a 
glass of water to a shelf of books in the library. This ideal 
is a good one but its thoroughness should be transferred to 
thought units. Pupils must be taught to study what bears 
upon the purpose, to take the related and leave irrelevant 
materials interspersed. Close, plodding reading is often an 
enemy to economical study ; much must be judiciously 
skimmed. Some form of picking and sifting must be devised. 
With upper grade classes a good device is to require pupils 
occasionally to take notes of a talk delivered too rapidly for 
it all to be copied. If securing the essential content of a 
paragraph or series of paragraphs is the purpose, pupils may 
practice underlining important statements, placing within 
brackets those not vital, marking the beginning and the end 
of the treatment of each topic and preparing marginal head- 
ings. 

2. Teacher must know plan and organization of textbook and 
aid pupils to use helps. To guide the pupils' study of a 
textbook the teacher must thoroughly know its plan and 
direct attention to its organization and study helps. The 
preface or introduction may have little significance ; of tener 
it has value in recent textbooks but much of the best method 
material remains safely locked up because teachers fail to 
read introduction and footnotes. Such material should be 



Teaching — The Study Period 245 

considered of value until careful examination disproves the 
assumption. The significance of chapter headings, topic 
sentences or important statements emphasized by italics, 
boldface type, or capitals is usually lost upon pupils unless 
taught to make use of them. The force of the emphasis 
device is sometimes sufficient to undo itself as in the case of 
letters so large as to be " read under." As a pupil expressed 
it, " Those letters were so large that I didn't see that fine." 
Topical outlines and study questions, even when good, achieve 
little for most pupils unless the teacher directs specific atten- 
tion to them, and follows such direction by inquiring as to 
their use. 

The better organized a textbook, the more worth while it 
is to help pupils to an understanding of its plan. They should 
be shown the relation implied by numbering a series of topics, 
taught to survey the entire plan of a chapter or topic 
treated, to be somewhat conscious of the plan of treatment 
first instead of blindly reading from line to line. For most 
pupils such guidance will not only result in immediate study 
economy but exercise strong influence toward well ordered 
thinking. 

3. Study questions for guidance of pupils. Study questions 
for the guidance of the studying class are an effective device. 
Such questions may be given as part of the assignment, placed 
upon the blackboard or hectographed, and distributed to 
each pupil. Most questions in textbooks are much better 
used for this purpose than for quizzing by the teacher. Such 
textbook questions vary from those poorly formed to test 
knowledge of fragmentary facts to excellent thought-stimulat- 
ing problems, but all are lacking in specific application to any 
given class or individual. This means that even with the 



246 The Work of the Teacher 

best of textbooks the teacher must formulate many study 
questions. 

In addition to meeting usual technical requirements dis- 
cussed in the preceding chapter, a study question must possess 
qualities which render it effective when detached from the 
immediate enthusiasm, magnetism, or driving force of the 
teacher. Definiteness and the " quality of taking hold " 
are among essential requirements. To formulate such prob- 
lems and questions requires a line-by-line knowledge of the 
textbook used by pupils, and intimate acquaintance with the 
school and social world of each, since frequently the best of 
such questions are based not so much upon the textbook as 
upon relations of its content to the pupil's daily life. 

While the study question may require a written answer, 
it is so easy to overdo the matter of written work that teachers 
should very often say to a class, " These questions do not call 
for writing ; think them over as you prepare the lesson, and 
write some of the answers if you think that will help you to 
understand and remember." Pupils who have fallen into 
the habit of depending too directly upon the teacher, asking 
unnecessary questions while they should be solving their own 
problems, may be greatly helped toward a more independent 
attitude by being given a list of study questions or directions 
and told to fight their own battles. If the teacher has pre- 
pared questions with proper care, such pupils should be held 
quite rigidly to doing their work unaided ; they will soon 
develop better study habits, and ability to follow written or 
printed directions is an accomplishment which the school 
should give to every child. 

To illustrate the type of study questions which some 
teachers are using with success the following are given : 



Teaching — The Study Period 247 

Study Questions for Seventh Grade 

(Based upon " Columbus," by Joaquin Miller) 

Recall the story of Columbus. What kind of ships had he? 
What were the real dangers ? Of what else were the sailors prob- 
ably afraid? 

Read the poem; explain Admiral, mate, mutinous, Gates of 
Hercules, gray Azores, 

What single words in stanzas one, two, and three show change 
in the spirit of the mate? (good, stout, blanched). What words 
in stanzas one, three, and four show changes in the sea? (shoreless, 
dread, mad) . Was this change in the sea, or in the way it appeared 
to the men? Find passages like 

"Now must we pray. 
For lo ! the very stars are gone," 
to indicate increasing hopelessness of mate and sailors. 

Find other forceful figures like 

"The very winds forget the way." 
"The sea shows his teeth." 
How is the constant courage of Columbus shown by repeated 
use of a single word in stanzas one, two, three, and four ? 
Why is light repeated so often in stanza five ? 
Explain, "He gained a world." What was its "grandest les- 
son"? 

Memorize two stanzas of the poem, choosing those you like best. 

Diagnosis of pupils with study diflaculties. The first step 
in helping a studying pupil is to secure an intelligent estimate 
of his difficulties. Sometimes these are easily discovered and 
surmounted ; with others long and critical observation is 
needed to make a correct diagnosis and persistent treatment 
required when the trouble is found. As suggestions to teachers 
who wish to study the work obstacles of their pupils a few 



248 The Work of the Teacher 

diagnoses of pupils who needed special help are given and the 
remedial measure with its result. 

Case I. Pupil in fifth grade, unable to add accurately. Various 
hypotheses are made as to the cause of his trouble, (a) Perhaps 
he is excitable or tries to work too fast. No ; careful observation 
shows neither frowning, gripping the desk, nor other signs of undue 
tension or haste ; on the contrary his movements are deliberate and 
his results not found in less than average time. 

{b) Perhaps his mind wanders from the column as he adds. But 
observation shows that he moves up the column quite regularly, 
without noticeable hesitation or indication that he is trying to keep 
his place by repeating partial result ''26, 26, 26" as many persons 
do when interrupted. The same observation indicated that he 
had equally ready knowledge of all elementary combinations, since 
none seemed to cause delay. 

(c) Perhaps the process of carrying is imperfectly mastered. 
This might be expected to show nearly all the incorrect result in 
others than the first column ; but his mistakes occur with about 
equal frequency in all. 

{d) Possibly in spite of his ready use of the elementary com- 
binations, some of them " come wrong " occasionally. This proved 
to be the case, 7+9 and 7+6 causing all the trouble. What made 
these unusually hard to detect was the fact that in adding aloud 
the pupil usually gave the correct results for these. A few individ- 
ual drill lessons stressing these two combinations seemed to remove 
the trouble. 

Case 2. Similar to Case i except that it was found that the 
pupil made the peculiar mistake of adding 7-1-9 = 26, 6-1-9 = 25, 
these two combinations often bringing a result too great by ten. 

Case 3. Pupil in seventh-grade reading seldom acquainted with 
meaning of new words. The pupil was generally intelligent and 
unusually industrious. Apparently she had abundance of time for 
study. Investigation showed that she had never learned the alpha- 



Teaching — The Study Period 249 

bet, which made the dictionary practically a closed book to her. 
Drill upon the alphabet and its application to the use of the diction- 
ary removed the cause for complaint. 



Exercises 

1. The usual school term is from eight to ten months in most 
parts of the country. Granting that the pupil spends half of his 
school time outside of reciting classes, how many minutes does he 
"study" in a year, counting five days a week and four weeks a 
month? How much of this time is he really studying? How 
much of the time he is seriously studying what has been assigned is 
spent upon material worthy of such careful attention ? General- 
izing, how much does the child study and how much of his study is 
wasted ? 

2. Many pupils do not know how to study ; yet nearly all books 
and articles upon this subject are of such nature that few pupils 
can understand them until their study habits are formed. What 
per cent of the elementary school teachers with whom you are ac- 
quainted are able to instruct pupils in the best methods of study? 

3. "It often happens that the teacher gets his mind so fixed 
upon his own plan or his own idea that he is totally blind to any- 
thing of value in the plans or ideas suggested by the pupils. If 
pupils are to be trained, their plans and ideas must be the starting 
point. They constitute the stock in trade, the raw material with 
which the work must be done. ... To be helpful . . . the 
teacher must be on such terms with his pupils that his presence 
does not stand in the way of free mental activity. A teacher who 
frightens his class, who is overserious, or who is sarcastic, will not 
be able to make much progress in training pupils to study, since 
his attitude retards rather than accelerates thinking on the part of 
the class." (Earhart : Teaching Pupils to Study, 143.) 

Effective supervision of study is perhaps more difficult than 



250 The Work of the Teacher 

class instruction as the term is usually understood. In addition 
to the suggestions of the foregoing quotation what is requisite for 
successful direction of pupils' study? 

4. (a) A pupil used the expression, ''You should have seen the 
feathers flew." The teacher told him to write the correct form 
fifty times after school. Forty-nine times he wrote, "You should 
have seen the feathers fly," but the fiftieth copy reproduced the 
original mistake. Asked about the matter next day the pupil re- 
plied, "I got in a hurry and forgot." 

{h) Having difl&culty in eradicating the use of "gwine" instead 
of "going," a teacher required a pupil to write the full conjugation 
of "I am going, you are going, he is going" in all tenses. He then 
said, "I think you understand that now, don't you?" "Yes; it 
looks as if they were all agwine." 

Account for the failure of the copying device in {a) and (h). 
What difference between the two cases? What is the relative 
value of oral and written drill exercises in overcoming such incorrect 
usages ? 

5. As a fine example of social motive for study McMurry men- 
tions a school group who worked industriously in learning to read 
stories which they in turn read to an old person with failing eye- 
sight. What similar opportunities have you seen utilized in giving 
the unmediate result of study significance outside the schoolroom ? 

6. A studying pupil read the following statement without being 
conscious of any contradiction or inconsistency : "A boy was run 
over by an automobile yesterday and instantly killed. He was 
taken to the hospital and it is reported that he is making good 
progress toward recovery." What is the cause of such reading? 

7. "Learn, verify, repeat, reflect," was the study motto of 
Jacotot. Which of the four precepts quoted seems to be most often 
neglected ? 

8. Make a list of study questions to guide a pupil in studying 
a poem; a geography lesson involving use of a map; a history 



Teaching — The Study Period 251 

lesson in which dififerences of opinion are easily supported by 
argument. 

9. Prepare a list of what allpupils of a sixth-grade class in com- 
position or written work should know and practice without ques- 
tion. What would be the effect upon classroom economy of keep- 
ing such a list before the class with the understanding that all 
should do independent work with reference to points covered in 
the list, asking the teacher no questions ? As examples of questions 
which such a list might forestall, the following are mentioned : 

(a) How do you spell ? 

{b) Shall I begin with a capital ? 

(c) Shall I indent here? 

10. Draw figures like the following upon the blackboard and 
ask pupils to find all the isosceles triangles. 






(e) 



^ 




(/) ig) ih) ik) 



It is probable that figures (a) and (c) will be selected at once, and 
that some pupils will omit others properly included or even argue 
that they are not isosceles triangles. How do you account for incor- 
rect answers ? Make a similar experiment with other geometrical 
forms. 

11. To what extent would training pupils to study geography 
help them in studying arithmetic? History? Spelling? 

12. Classify your pupils as those whose study difficulties are 
due to (a) poor retentive powers, (b) inability to read, (c) inability 
to concentrate, (d) the handicap of a very narrow or abnormal 



252 The Work of the Teacher 

home environment resulting in poverty of ideas and vocabulary, 
{e) physical defects. 

13. Some textbooks are poorly written. Common defects are 
poor organization, failure to make essentials stand out in bold re- 
lief, use of words too difficult for pupils, and crowding into a single 
paragraph many slightly related thoughts. Find examples of 
these and other defects in the texts you use. What can the teacher 
do to avoid waste and loss of interest due to each of these ? 

14. From the standpoint of study, should arithmetic answers 
accompany each problem, be placed at the close of the textbook, 
or be omitted entirely ? What would be gained by having answers 
given as limits between which the correct result is found ? 

15. Select at random five pages of a textbook used in an upper 
grade class and determine which words will need explanation or use 
of the dictionary. 

16. Which of the textbooks you are teaching or studying con- 
tain useful method suggestions? Study questions with an ener- 
gizing grip? 

17. Select five arithmetic examples or problems which would 
probably cause pupils difiiculty owing to the way in which they are 
expressed rather than because of any mathematical obstacles pre- 
sented. 

18. What is the objection to giving a class the following instruc- 
tions ? 

(o) Study the lesson ten times. 

{h) After you have read your second-grade lesson through, read 
it backward. 

19. Replying to the question, " Is home work (study) for school 
children to be recommended?" nine out of ten of a large number 
of teachers answered "Yes" and the rest said "No" or were un- 
certain. How would you answer any of the following arguments 
which are listed in the order of their frequency among those not 
favorable to home study? 



Teaching — The Sttidy Period 253 

(a) Five hours of school work daily are enough for any child. 

(b) Home conditions are frequently unfavorable. 

(c) Too much dishonesty ; pupils do not do their own work. 

(d) Proper supervision of this work entails too much of the 
teacher's time. 

(e) It tends to careless writing. 

(/) It discriminates against the child whose home environment 
is unsuitable. 

(g) The work is done by those who need it least. 

(h) Fatigues pupil so that his proper rest and recreation are re- 
duced. 

Which of the following would you consider most practicable in 
eliminating the need for home study ? 

(a) Have study periods before and after school hours. 

(b) Have smaller classes so that teachers can give individual 
instruction, thus eliminating need of home study. 

(c) Use bright pupils to assist dull ones. 

(d) Reduce requirements so that pupils will not need to study 
except during the regular school day. 

20. By private individual inquiry ascertain the opportunity 
for study at home of all your pupils. Consider light, freedom from 
interruption, parental encouragement and cooperation, and other 
factors which your inquiry may soon discover. Tabulate the re- 
sults so as to show inequality of home study conditions. 

21. Give an example of work suitable for home study 

(a) because it represents application of principles already 
learned ; 

(b) because it possesses a gripping interest likely to insure sus- 
tained effort; 

(c) because it contains material which might prove interesting 
to the home circle of many pupils, thus extending school influence 
by brightening the lives of adults. 

22. A pupil divides his twenty-four hours about as follows: 



254 The Work of the Teacher 

sleep, ten hours; school session, six hours; meals, errands, play, 
seven hours ; home study, one hour. What effect upon this child 
has an assignment of such a nature that he must study four hours 
in order to complete the work in the given time ? Granting that 
the assignment is impossible of complete and thorough performance, 
which of the following courses of action would you expect him to 
follow ? 

(a) Lose sleep in an endeavor to comply ; 

(b) Hasten through the assignment, doing slipshod work and 
by this means "getting over " if not getting through with the lesson ; 

(c) Spend a reasonable time upon the assignment and later 
explain to the teacher that the task given was unreasonable. 

(d) Hire some one else to do part or all of the work. (Depend 
upon parents.) 

23. In a school organized departmentally, that is, with a teacher 
for each subject, it was found that several teachers often made heavy 
home study requirements on the same day. Being spasmodically 
overworked pupils were sometimes worried. To remedy this bad 
situation a weekly schedule was arranged by which only arithmetic 
was assigned on Monday, geography on Tuesday, and so on through 
the week, one subject each day. What would be the merits and 
defects of sending home for study but one subject a day in the 
school not organized departmentally ? 

READESfGS 

Bennett : School Efficiency, XVII (Home study). 
Colgrove : The Teacher and the School, XX. 
Hall-Quest : Supervised Study, IV- VIII. 
Home : Story-Telling, Questioning, III. 
McMurry : How to Study, II. 
Strayer: The Teaching Process, VIH. 



CHAPTER IX 
MEASURING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 

Necessity of measuring results. The essential purpose of 
every school is realized in the results it produces in the lives 
of its pupils. Of necessity, these children are not able to 
measure thoroughly the teacher's success ; teachers and officers 
are not sure of the effects of their work, or are sometimes im- 
critically too sure and resent the suggestion that the school 
must be held strictly accountable for results in proportion 
to material placed in its charge, much as are other social 
agencies. But late or soon society must and does evaluate 
the work of our schools ; measured by the ever increasing 
expenditure allowed for education, its judgment has evidently 
been that they justify their trust. 

In the enlarging functions of the modern school our work 
should be so well done that every opportunity to make a case 
will be welcomed ; all proposals to test or measure results are 
at least looking in the right direction. It is but reasonable 
to object to some of the methods used ; we must apply critical 
judgment before accepting all the implications of insecurely 
established standard tests — in a word " survey the sur- 
veyors " — but no professional teacher should be found 
opposing the idea of more intelligent and accurate means of 
determining results in education. 

Difficulty of measuring results. Unfortunately measuring 
results in education is much less simple than making com- 

255 



256 The Work of the Teacher 

parison with profit-making economic undertakings. The 
school is not conducted because the community expects 
financial remuneration ; the family does not rear children 
because they pay. The support of education, like the duties 
of parenthood, is part of a vague but very real " ought " 
which renders service to the community and the state. Be- 
cause of the peculiar relation of the family as the producer of 
society and the school as the institution for transmitting its 
cultural possessions, the final value of either is bound up with 
nothing less than the end or goal of society itself — a subject 
of debate among philosophers from the beginning of time. 
A shoe factory tests well if its output is good and produced 
with minimum waste of time or material. " Good " means 
that the shoe must be comfortable, more or less in style, and 
of long wearing quality. In turn each of these characteristics 
may be defined and measured. 

By no such simple analysis can the work of the school be 
estimated. The infinite complexity of elements which have 
influenced each child in school is equaled only by the un- 
measurable influences which he may exert ; thus the success 
or failure of his education cannot be determined even within 
the span of a lifetime. Similarly it may not be possible to 
measure finally the success of a school system owing to the 
fact that, with all immediate efficiency, it may be leading 
an entire nation in a wrong direction or toward inevitable 
disaster. Not only are many results of education long 
deferred, but some of the most important are now and perhaps 
must always remain undiscoverable by those instrumental 
in bringing them to pass. 

Educational results to be measured — ideals and attitudes, 
habits, knowledge, i. Ideals. However, it may contribute 



Measuring the Work of the School 257 

to an understanding of this very complex problem to outline 
briefly the elements of education in which results must be 
achieved. Reduced to its lowest terms, education has often 
been said to consist of ideals and attitudes, habits, and 
knowledge. 

The first of these, ideals and attitudes, with appreciation, 
are clearly the guide and inspiration which move to action. 
An ideal has been defined as " seeing one's self as he wishes 
to become." No less important than the habit is the abihty 
to see favorably and choose the honest, industrious, neat, true, 
or beautiful. One who has only the habit of being honest or 
neat might show faultless conduct in accustomed situations, 
but in a new, changing, or problematical environment or 
difficult stress only deHberate choice dependent upon an ideal 
proves effective. 

Not only do ideals control in situations involving moral 
deliberation and plainly requiring yes or no decisions, but 
the belief that one is equal to great things, an habitual atti- 
tude of being successful is one of the surest foreshadowings of 
success itself. Complete self-respect, enthusiasm for generous 
or noble conduct in friend or foe, " large " ways of considering 
affairs — these as ideals are a vital part of what the school 
should give. The direction one is going is of more importance 
than his speed or knowledge of the road. Yet in spite of their 
fundamental value ideals and attitudes are very difficult to 
reduce to any standard of measurement. 

2. Habits. Habits or habit systems are to serve in that 
great majority of our actions which must be performed over 
and over again. Speed, accuracy, and inevitableness are 
the essential qualities. The first two are easily measured in 
such formal subjects as spelling, writing, and the mechanics of 



258 The Work of the Teacher 

calculation. If the automatic element is established in- 
evitably it makes this evident by persisting when thought is 
occupied elsewhere. Thus it is possible to test the effective- 
ness of a pupil's spelling or writing habits by means of papers 
written in language or geography, or his oral expression by 
watching him upon the playground or in animated con- 
versation. It is much more difl&cult to determine the degree 
to which intelligent use will be made of automatized actions. 
The pedant is habitually vaunting his little capital of informa- 
tion ; the " educated fool," because of habit bonds, unprofit- 
ably associated, is unable to turn loose the proper bit of his 
learning when it might apply. 

3. Knowledge. Knowledge, the third element which the 
school must develop, may, like habit formation, be tested, 
but it is frequently not possible to determine the increase 
of knowledge within a given time or due to school activities. 
And whether it be considered a matter of knowledge or habit 
bonds which make what is learned available, no test gives 
assurance that learning will be recalled and applied when 
needed. 

The foregoing discussion should be sufficient to make clear 
the elements of education which it is the school's business to 
develop — knowledge, habits, ideals, and attitudes. School 
measurements, next discussed, apply in varying degrees to 
the first two ; reliable means of measuring the others have 
yet to be discovered. 

The school's estimate of its own work. Notwithstanding 
the impossibility of determining final results and the finer 
values in education, the school must have for its own guidance 
estimates of the degree to which it is accomplishing its proxi- 
mate aims. If pupils in one room read more readily or add 



Measuring the Work of the School 259 

more accurately than those in another, it is worth while to 
look for the causes, perhaps in teacher, methods employed, or 
time devoted to the subject. If one pupil is retained in his 
grade and another promoted, the difference in placing the 
two depends for its justification upon some kind of measure- 
ment. Because of its own necessities, the school has several 
ways of measuring results in pupils. These may be broadly 
listed as (a) the unrecorded judgment of teachers, (b) recorded 
estimates known as marks or grades, (c) examinations, (d) 
educational measurements, standard tests, and scales. These 
in turn will be discussed. 

I. Unrecorded judgment of the teacher. The free and 
unrecorded judgment of the teacher is of all means the most 
flexible and universally appHcable in estimating attaimnent or 
progress. When used with or checked by more objective 
procedures next discussed, it is also the most reliable. But as 
a rule the teacher's judgment is highly subjective and affected 
by a multitude of unrelated influences. The pupil who does 
well the first few months of school has increased probability 
of being thought strong, merely because of the inertia which 
gives an opinion stability. It is easier to take the already 
formed estimate of a child than to keep reestimating him 
every few days. 

Unconsciously the teacher reads into the work of a pupil with 
good reputation excellence which the work itself does not 
possess, and by the same process reads out of his indifferent 
classmate's attempts values to which another might be less 
blind. Not only is he likely to be mistaken in his estimate 
of individual pupils, but he may have -lax standards of what 
the room or grade as a whole should accomplish. Optimistic 
teachers frequently say, " My classes are doing fine work," 



26o The Work of the Teacher 

and thoroughly believe the statement although pupils are by 
no means putting forth maximum efforts ; they do willingly 
all that is asked but are not stimulated to great enough 
exertion. It is evident that mere opinion of the teacher is 
variable and that a more impersonal and constant plan of 
estimating results is needed. 

2, Marks or grades. Marks, usually numbers or letters, 
are generally used in estimating results. These may be 
based upon the teacher's judgment or upon various other 
tests of which they become the record. In rating pupils' 
written work, especially before the teacher becomes familiar 
with handwritings, a fairly objective estimate may be 
obtained, the work alone being measured. But if the teacher 
knows whose paper he is marking, it is often found that the 
name of the polite or persevering little pupil has counted 
more than the work itself, and that the mischievous or im- 
pudent lad has been marked down to what is expected of him. 
If one unacquainted with the class is asked to mark papers, the 
teacher may usually detect room for modifying at least some 
of his own marks through studying the cases upon which the 
estimates diverge. Aside from such subjective and irrelevant 
influences, other questions soon present themselves in the use 
of marks. How often should they be recorded? What 
notation should be used? What after all do they mean? 
These will be discussed in succession. 

a. How often should marks he recorded. Daily marking of 
every pupil is fatiguing and slavish ; if , in addition, standing is 
recorded in the presence of the class or after each answer to a 
question, the entire effect is deadening to all concerned. On 
the other hand, marking at uncertain or long intervals gives 
too much weight to casual or accidental conditions. The 



Measuring the Work of the School 261 

pupil who had done well upon nine days might be rated upon 
the tenth when he failed. A safe plan is to go over the list 
of pupils at least once in four or five days, making sure each 
has been given an active part in class exercises, and recording 
standing according to his performance. Questions are often 
asked for which answers cannot reasonably be expected ; 
care must be exercised that ratings are based upon reasonable 
expectations. A thoughtful estimate of each pupil, recorded 
at intervals of a few days, will secure the reliability of daily 
marking without its tedious and wasteful grind. 

h. Notations used in marking; letters and per cents. To the 
second question, relating to a suitable notation, practice has 
given numerous partly satisfactory answers. The only 
universally understood system in this country is that of per 
cents, preferred by children because it seems more definite, 
and by parents because they are accustomed to per cents in 
other fields and wrongly fancy they understand a child's 
report card bearing a ninety per cent mark. Popular under- 
standing of per cents, if it were more enlightened, would be 
an argument in their favor, though letter systems in some 
European countries have, through uniform and long-continued 
usage, acquired as generally intelligible meaning. 

The principal objections to per cent markings are that they 
direct attention toward the absolute rather than the relative 
standing of pupils, further discussed in relation to the meaning 
of marks, and they easily lend themselves to unprofitably 
fine distinctions, unsatisfactory for teachers and pupils alike. 
The difference between marks of 89 and 90 is difficult of 
explanation to rival pupils ; except in a few typts of formal 
drills, few teachers would argue that such minute differences 
are to be reliably determined. This troublesome feature 



262 The Work of the Teacher 

may be avoided if only the per cents ending in 5 or o are used, 
70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100. If this is done, there is much 
similarity between per cents and letter notations in common 
use, A, B, C, D, E ; E, G, M, P, F (Excellent, Good, Medium, 
Passing or Poor, Failure) or E, S, M, I, and F (Excellent, 
Superior, Medium, Inferior, and Failure). 

Before leaving the subject of per cents, it is but fair to 
note that they possess a minor advantage of speaking more 
eloquently in the case of those whose work is unsatisfactory. 
If " F " represents failure, it is applied to the one whose work 
is almost passing, the same as to one who has hardly started 
in the race. The nearly passing pupil at 55 per cent and the 
rank failure of 15 per cent sometimes hardly seem to belong 
in the same group. 

c. Giving marks a meaning. In reply to the third question 
concerning the meaning of marks, it has been indicated in 
another connection that they should be the measure of a 
single attainment or quality. Allowing deportment or poor 
penmanship to affect a pupil's mark in history is confusing 
unless it can be shown that illegible handwriting prevented 
accurate expression of his thought. But granting that 
marks are not thus obscure in meaning, many teachers have 
vague or incorrect notion of their significance. " Ninety 
per cent means ninety per cent of perfection," says one who 
thinks he has believed this during a teaching career of twenty 
years. Clearly such a statement is nonsense in most subjects. 
If used in estimating work in geography, history, or literature, 
we may ask what perfection is in these subjects. Is it the 
same for the fourth grade as for the sixth? If perfection is 
the standard, how does it happen that a half dozen teachers 
often give to the same paper as many different marks, ranging 



Measuring the Work of the School 263 

from fifty to ninety per cent, meanwhile agreeing rather con- 
sistently as to which papers are best and poorest in a given 
group? Instead of the absolute standard it is far better in 
most subjects that marks should be considered relative. A 
pupil then given a rating of 90 per cent is simply regarded as 
stronger or better in the subject than one who receives 80 
per cent, not nine eighths as strong, just as a mark of " E " 
indicates higher rank than " M." 

The sanest plans of marking are those which throw pupils 
into relatively large groups according to rank of attainment. 
Unless a teacher has appraised the work of two pupils clearly 
enough to state the particulars in which one is superior to the 
other, he has no right to make a difference in their marks. It is 
lazy autocracy to fall back upon the ipse dixit of undefined 
impression, refusing to explain to a pupil wherein he has fallen 
short. On the other hand, it would be difficult, as well as 
entirely useless, to give the exact ranking of each pupil in a 
class of forty. This constitutes the principal argument for 
grouped marking such as we usually associate with letters. 
In the typical class there are a few excellent pupils, a larger 
group not quite so strong but above the average, and a 
large number of average strength. Below average is a fourth 
group and usually a few whose work is decidedly unsatis- 
factory or failing. 

The standing of most pupils is such that it is comparatively 
easy to classify them in one of these five groups for each of 
which a letter is used. Assuming that five marks are used, 
how many should reasonably be expected to receive the highest 
mark, the lowest, and others between? .Very tall persons or 
very bright children are comparatively scarce ; the same may 
be said of very short, lean, and impohte or stupid persons. 



264 The Work of the Teacher 

Fully one half of all the people we know are not conspicuously 
tall, short, or possessed of any other qualities in an extreme 
degree. It is at least reasonable to suppose that pupils' 
attainment in a typical group of children would not differ 
greatly as to the distribution of excellent, superior, average, 
inferior, and failure cases from most other phenomena. As 
an illustration, it would probably be safe to award in a typical 
class of thirty about the following numbers of each mark : 

Excellent i 

Superior (good) 7 

Medium (average) 15 

Inferior (poor) 6 

Failure i 

Several in the group of course might deserve and receive the 
excellent mark, or so might none of them; all might be 
average pupils and there might be many or no failures. It 
would prove exceedingly unfortunate for any one to assume a 
fixed distribution or rule as to how many marks of each 
quality should be awarded in a given school group ; if several 
hundred pupils of about the same age or grade are considered, 
it may be apparent that the distribution would probably apply. 

Basing marks upon rank instead of some fancied or un- 
comprehended perfection standard helps to eliminate the 
results of temperamental differences in teachers. One with 
sanguine but uncritical attitude awards a majority of pupils 
the highest rating ; another who is overcritical or desirous of 
winning a reputation for rigid requirements seems to delight 
in a multitude of low marks. The result is that for the same 
quality of work widely differing records are made. High 
marks are " cheap " in one case and " dear " or not available 



Measuring the Work of the School 265 

in the other. Such extreme differences are perplexing to 
children and parents. If a change of teachers occurs a pupil 
may be rated " superior " one month and " inferior " the 
next, no one being conscious of any corresponding change in 
zeal or performance. It is even conceivable that children in a 
departmentally organized school might be misled as to their 
own special aptitudes. If William constantly receives 
" Excellent " in arithmetic and " Medium " or " Inferior " in 
geography, does not that prove the presence of special mathe- 
matical talent? 

Any teacher who awards an unusually large number of 
high or low marks should be sure he is dealing with an unusual 
group of pupils. It might well be added that extremes, 
designed to indicate excellent attainment or failure, should 
be used sparingly. In cases of doubt, safety usually lies in 
giving too many average rather than an excess of high or 
low ratings. On the other hand, easy-going teachers are 
exposed to the danger of reasoning that giving average marks 
to all is easier than knowing pupils' attainment well enough 
to discriminate. If all teachers used marks more consist- 
ently and positively as a means of estimating and reporting 
results, they would have a much greater value. 

So far as the incentive value of marks is concerned a teacher 
might consistently argue that " passing " and " not passing " 
were the only marks necessary since ideally at least pupils 
do not work for marks. Such argument is seldom valid in 
thinking of marks as a notation used to estimate attainment. 
It is a rare occurrence to find all pupils of a class doing even 
approximately the same quality of work. The variation in 
degree of excellence usually extends from failure to perform- 
ance with which little if any fault can be found. 



266 The Work of the Teacher 

3. Examinations. Examinations constitute the third 
means of testing results. In spite of adverse criticism they 
persist because their values outweigh their manifest defects. 
Naturally they cannot well become the favorite exercise of 
pupils but there is no excuse for making them unnecessarily 
distasteful by holding them before pupils as grim monsters 
to be reckoned with. The doubtful practice of excusing 
brighter or more industrious pupils from an examination if 
they attain a given mark has the effect of branding it as an 
unpleasant experience. Typical objections to examinations 
are the following : 

(i) They interrupt the educational process, much as pulling 
up a young plant to determine its rate of growth might interfere 
with its development. 

(w) Examinations are accused of causing needless strain 
upon children, resulting in such phenomena as cramming, 
loss of sleep, and cheating. 

{Hi) They do not test important results ; ability to cram is 
measured, and this quite fortuitously, since it is impossible 
to cover all the ground with any set of questions. A pupil 
who has been so fortunate as to prepare one fourth of his 
lessons from which questions are chosen makes a better show- 
ing than his more diligent classmate who knows thoroughly 
the three fourths from which no questions happen to be 
selected. 

{iv) Pupils do not like examinations. 

As sometimes conducted, examinations are open to the fore- 
going and other objections, but skillful handling should remove 
most of their shortcomings. They should be made to serve 
as a teaching expedient, their testing function not unduly 
obtruded; they should be clearly worth while and so far as 



Measuring the Work of the School 267 

possible dissociated from the idea of promotion, in this way 
not being a serious interruption to work nor the cause of 
needless strain. So far as cheating is concerned, occasional 
cases will occur, often unthinkingly or " to get ahead of the 
teacher " more than for any other purpose. The moral 
standards of children in the lower grades should not be put 
to the strain of being placed upon honor ; older pupils may be 
brought gradually to the moral level which recognizes the 
wrong of this form of stealing, and the inherent beauty of 
being independent. In relation to the claim that children 
dislike examinations it would be strange if they did not after 
all the extreme statements in pedagogical discussions of the 
subject. Perhaps if teachers were more careful in using 
examinations, there would be less of such criticism ; it is quite 
possible that many pupils do not " hate examinations " until 
thus told that they should disUke them. Furthermore, to 
plead childish disfavor is not convincing argument ; children 
often express extreme dislike of serious or steady employment, 
plain diet, and similar parts of a regimen which promotes 
healthy growth. 

Teaching and testing being combined in the best use of 
examinations, it may be noted that they act as an incentive 
for additional study and more thorough organization and give 
opportunity to see relations of large units of subject matter. 
They reveal defective preparation or incorrect notions of 
pupils, which " follow up " lessons may complete or correct. 
Examinations also detect misplaced emphasis, omitted con- 
tent, or improper presentation by the teacher. If half a 
class fails in a reasonable examination, the instructor is nearly 
half a failure. If only two or three are unable to pass, the 
fact remains that, so far as these are concerned, the educational 



268 The Work of the Teacher 

purpose has not been realized. If no one could have done 
better such failures are not a discredit to the teacher, but one 
who has secret pride in the fact that children cannot pass his 
examinations does well to study the various meanings of such 
an attitude and condition ; in examining the attainment of a 
class under his instruction the teacher is giving his own work 
a rating. 

4. Standard tests and scales. The desire for a still more 
objective means of measuring results has led to the elaboration 
of numerous " standardized " tests and scales, and students 
of education are constantly adding to the list. The most 
satisfactory so far devised measure habit formation in drill 
subjects, especially penmanship and arithmetic. Useful scales 
are available for measuring other subjects in a degree, 
and enthusiastic exponents of the educational measurements 
idea believe that eventually attainment in all branches may 
be gauged quite accurately ; others are skeptical of the possi- 
bility of developing practical means for measuring language, 
geography, history, art, science, or literature. There can 
be no doubt that the " scale idea " has done much to bring 
about more critical estimates of what schools are doing ; 
intelligent recognition of more thorough drill upon the most 
accurately measured fundamentals has been one result. The 
principal advantages presented by such scales and educational 
measurements are the following: 

a. Standard tests and scales represent actual attainment. 
They are based upon established norms representing actual 
performance instead of crudely derived notions expressing 
uncritical opinion. Instead of arbitrarily or dogmatically 
saying that pupils of the eighth grade ought to write as well 
as a given sample, it has been found by studying many 



Measuring the Work of the School 269 

thousands of cases that handwriting of eighth-grade classes 
in most good schools has an average not far from quality 
eleven of the Thorndike scale. Instead of thinking that the 
same pupils should add or subtract a given number of examples 
in three minutes, the adding and subtracting record in thou- 
sands of eighth-grade classes has been found. 

h. Standard tests and scales are objective and can he widely 
applied. Such standards once established may be universally 
applied. It thus becomes possible to compare achievement 
of children of a given age or grade in any school or system with 
those in other schools, no matter how far away they may be, 
or what system of marks may be employed. Grade rooms or 
school systems greatly below these established standards in 
performance may endeavor to find local excuses but it is 
hardly feasible to protest that standards so thoroughly con- 
firmed are too high. 

By the same tests, overlearning in the teacher's favorite 
subjects may sometimes be detected and more attention 
directed to other branches not so well taught. Again, since 
the standards and scales are fixed measures, it becomes 
possible to use them in an absolute sense, determining for 
example how many pupils in the sixth-grade write more 
poorly than should be expected of fifth-grade or fourth-grade 
children. To state that a pupil writes or adds as well as is 
expected in the third, fifth, or sixth grade conveys information 
not found in a mark of A, B, C, or 90 per cent. By means of 
such measurements it becomes a simple matter to state 
absolutely what kind of work is being done or to measure 
improvement, since the standard does not change. 

c. Use of scales steadies teacher^s estimates. The scale or 
standard idea once established, teachers find their markings 



270 The Work of the Teacher 

considerably steadied by making their own scales in subjects 
for which no generally effective ones have been worked out. 
A very practical application is found in composition ; after 
extensive study a few compositions of sufficient excellence to 
merit a high, average, or low mark and intermediate qualities 
at will may be selected as standards by which to measure 
others. The question to ask is not whether the composition 
judged resembles the standard but whether it is as good. 
Even in marking examination papers or estimating written 
work of any kind, a teacher can very profitably choose samples 
of the best, the poorest, the average, and perhaps one or two 
intermediate qualities, and use these for constant comparison 
through the series, instead of trusting to chance groupings 
which may lead to uneven standards. To illustrate, after 
reading ten very poor papers, one of medium quality seems 
much better than the same paper would after reading ten of the 
best. By occasional reference to papers regarded as standards 
it is much less difficult to maintain uniformity of judgment. 
This plan necessitates looking over several papers before any 
marks are determined — a safe precaution in most cases. 

d. Distinction between teaching and testing value of measure- 
ment scales. In using educational measurements it is essen- 
tial that a clear distinction be made between their teaching 
and their testing values, just as in the case of examination. 
A writing scale composed of specimens of handwriting varying 
from very poor to excellent and including all styles of penman- 
ship has no value except for testing ; it is not a teaching instru- 
ment and should not be kept before pupils since no one wishes 
them to imitate the poorer qualities, various styles, or the 
peculiarities of individual penmanship. A similar statement 
holds with regard to sample compositions. 



Measuring the Work of the School 271 

Spelling scales composed of word lists lose their testing 
value if they are deliberately used as spelling lessons, but as a 
means of securing interest in spelling they accomplish a teach- 
ing purpose. One who has never heard of the " Hundred 
Demons of English Spelling " and spells the hundred words 
correctly may well be rated as good in spelling ; on the other 
hand, the pupil who spends months learning to spell all 
words of this list alone may nevertheless be poor in spelling. 

e. Achievement of room or class more important than high 
individual records. It should also be suggested that the 
achievement of rooms or grades is of importance rather 
than that of single pupils. Knowing the rank or status 
of his room, it is for the classroom teacher to make individ- 
ual measurements which may assist in securing stronger 
work. As an illustration, rapidity of writing in schools 
where the subject is effectively taught conforms approxi- 
mately to the figures in the accompanying table ; great 
variations from these rates should cause critical study of 
every element of the situation. 





Rate of Writing 


Grade 


Number of letters per minute at dose of 
the year 


Second 

Third 


20 to 30 
25 to 35 
35 to 45 
45 to 60 
60 to 75 
75 to 85 
80 to 95 


Fourth 

Fifth 


Sixth 


Seventh 


Eighth 



If the writing rate for the room proves low, this may be due 
to a rather general condition affecting nearly all pupils, or 



272 The Work of the Teacher 

some may be writing too rapidly while a majority need 
increased speed. It is not important nor probable that all 
can achieve the rate expected of the grade, since pupils differ 
greatly. It is important that the teacher should realize 
that the room shows a low standard, since differences are not 
so marked among classes of the same grade ; the per cent of 
slow pupils in a dozen eighth-grade classes may vary but little. 
Most rooms or classes may be brought to the standard estab- 
lished by measuring other groups of the same grade ; many 
individual pupils cannot attain this standard. 

/. Teacher's cooperation in developing educational measure- 
ments. The advantages to be derived from an extension of 
the standard test idea are so evident that the intelligent 
teacher's attitude can only be favorable. It is wise also to 
be intelligently critical of measurements proposed, since many 
are of little practical significance. The appUcation of objective 
and mathematical measurements to educational results is in 
an infantile stage. Cooperation in using and developing such 
standards is a reasonable expectation of every professionally 
minded teacher. 

Promotion as a resultant. In determining fitness for 
promotion all the four means of measuring results are of 
value, but very large scope must be allowed for use of the 
teacher's judgment. The attitude toward promotion should 
be prospective rather than retrospective. There is essentially 
but one question in regard to placing a pupil for the next 
,year: "Considering all the circumstances, will he receive 
more by remaining another year in this grade or by spending 
the time in the next? " 

Among " all the circumstances " which teachers should use 
in answering the question are marks, results of examinations, 



Measuring the Work of the School 273 

and educational measurements, though no one nor all of 
these can be the deciding factor. The pupil's age, size, men- 
tal ability and application, physical energy, temperament, 
health, home environment and associates, like or dislike of 
certain teachers, and other factors must enter into the esti- 
mate. It is the pupil's time we are using, so much limited 
that it must be employed most advantageously even though 
his scholarship may be rated as a failure ; some never actually 
" pass " in the work of any grade, but they are and should be 
promoted. In no great number of cases will looking ahead 
for the pupil's welfare result differently from looking back 
over his achievement. The pupil promoted before completion 
of minimum requirements in fundamental subjects finds it 
difficult to get his bearings in a field where all is new and un- 
familiar. " Place the pupil where he will receive most bene- 
fit " usually means that he is kept where his preparation 
entitles him to be. 

Exercises 

1. Since the word "grade" is used to denote years in school as 
well as symbols, letters, and per cents indicating pupils' standing in 
class, what objections can be raised to employing "mark" instead 
of "grade" when referring to the latter use? 

2. After several weeks' observation, rank the pupils of a room or 
school according to their importance upon the playground or in 
the social life of the school. Compare your ranking with their 
standing as indicated by the marks upon their report cards. 

3. Comparing the marks of pupils is not a difficult matter if 
per cents are used ; with letters a practicable plan is to substitute 
arbitrary numerical values for each mark. In the accompanying 
cases find the average standing of the group and of each individual 



274 The Work of the Teacher 

by using these equivalents : E, lo ; S, 5 ; M, o ; I, minus 5 ; F, 
minus 10. 

(A) MMMSSMMFMSMS 

(B) SSSMEEESSSES 

(C) IMMIIIFMMMSI 

(D) EESSSSMMMSSM 

4. A teacher gave a mark of F (failure) in oral expression to a 
pupil who stuttered. He reasoned that he could not possibly give 
a higher mark, since, in order to avoid exciting this pupil and ren- 
dering his speech defect more conspicuous, he had given him no 
oral work. What should the teacher do in such a case? 

Some teachers give their pupils very low marks during the first 
months of the term and gradually raise them toward the end of the 
school year. What is the justification for such a practice ? 

Many teachers refuse to award the mark of 100 per cent to any 
pupil in any subject. Are they right ? What arguments may be 
advanced in support of this custom? 

5. After estimating a half dozen examination papers in a con- 
tent subject and recording the mark of each, ask several other 
teachers to rate the same papers. Account for the differences in 
rank and in general level of the marks given. 

6. How would you prove the truth or falsity of each of the fol- 
lowing ? 

(a) Teachers mark the examination papers, not on the pupil's 
ability to think but upon his ability to reflect the teacher. 

{h) The teacher is more likely to mark the examination paper 
98 per cent because he rates the pupil's ability high than he is to 
estimate the pupil's ability higher because he has received a good 
mark upon his paper. 

7. To reduce tension or haste during examination and to insure 
the greatest fairness 

(a) Allow pupils to choose a certain number of questions out of 
a given list. 



Measuring the Work of the School 275 

(6) State that pupils will be rated upon whatever they have time 
to complete, a perfect mark being given as readily for seven an- 
swers as for ten. 

(c) Have examinations at the completion of topics rather than 
at fixed intervals such as once a month. 

(d) Estimate papers as a whole rather than upon the basis of a 
given number of points per question answered. 

(e) Conduct examinations and tests unannounced and, if pos- 
sible, without knowledge upon the part of pupils that they are being 
tested. 

State the arguments either for or against each of the foregoing 
suggestions. 

8. A pupil before examination said, "I haven't the least notion 
what any of the questions will be." Granting that pupils should 
have at least a general idea of the probable questions, estimate 
the value of each of the following devices : 

(a) Post fifty review questions, promising to select five or ten 
examination questions from the list. 

(b) Have pupils make up lists of "examination questions." 

(c) Announce definitely what the questions are to be. 

9. Discuss the following attempts at telling how to point off 
decimals {a) with regard to the pupil's knowledge of the matter 
and (6) in relation to the mark you would give such answers written 
by a sixth-grade class : (Copy of actual school work.) 

(i) There are so many places in the multiplier and you add your 
top number and bottom number together and place the destimel. 

(w) count the number in the multiply er and the multum and add, 
then count the places in the answer and place the decimal point. 

(in) Point of A many numbers in the answer as there are 
numbers after the decmel point in there are in the multiplier and 
the multiplicand for your decimal point. 

10. A pupil wrote upon examination : 
"Sixty gallons make one hedgehog." 



276 The Work of the Teacher 

"Fragments is the smell of a flower, like a rose." 

"Three Scruples equal one drink 
Eight drinks equal one ounce." 
Account for the mistakes. Did this pupil know more or less than 
one who made no attempt at defining these terms ? 

11. Marking of pupils' papers so conscientiously done by many 
teachers is considered hard and uninteresting work; in addition, 
pupils are often indifferent, throwing away returned papers with 
little or no heed to corrections. Evaluate each of the following 
as means of securing better results : 

(a) Marking fewer mistakes and making educative comments 
in specific detail. 

(b) Requiring papers to be corrected and returned to the teacher 
for inspection. 

(c) Having pupils correct each other's papers. Note that this 
plan offers opportunity for needed repetition upon the part of 
pupils who are merely slow, and stimulates study of corrections 
since pupils readily challenge each other's markings. 

12. Sometimes a standard of form can be adopted by teacher 
and class, which sets forth minimum formal or mechanical require- 
ments of written work in all subjects. The following is suggested 
as an example : 

1. Penmanship must be as good as (quality No. — of 

Thorndike, Ayres, or other writing scale, or as samples posted in 
the room). 

2. Not more than one word in a hundred misspelled. 

3. Periods, commas, question marks, hyphens, used correctly. 

4. No capital letters omitted and none used out of place. A 
paper which falls below any of these requirements may be returned 
merely marked "Returned; standard two, or three." This gives 
the pupil a guide for making his corrections. 

Devise suitable standards for each grade of the elementary school. 

13. The following is the record of an oral and silent reading 
test indicating the number of words read per minute : 



Measuring the Work of the School 



277 



Gladys . 
Helen . 
Ralph . 
Charlotte 
Leland . 



October Record 



Oral Silent 



116 

147 
163 

143 



174 
244 
336 
329 
165 



May Record 



Oral Silent 



I2S 


184 


140 


268 


190 


340 


170 


368 


75 


171 



Find the average increase in rate of oral and silent reading. 
Which made the greatest gain ? Make a similar test of the rate of 
reading in your school at intervals of several months. (To avoid 
the influence of accidental errors find the average of ihree minutes* 
reading of each pupil.) 

14. Handwriting tests including nearly one hundred fifty rooms 
in a city school showed the following averages in the number of 
letters written per minute of memorized material : 



Slowest Roou 



Fastest Room 



Fifth grade 
Sixth grade 
Seventh grade 
Eighth grade . 



39 letters 
47 letters 

45 letters 

46 letters 



83 letters 

93 letters 

97 letters 

loi letters 



What do such wide room differences indicate? Find the average 
rate for your school and the rate for each pupil. 

15. Have pupils spend exactly fifteen minutes copying prose 
of average difficulty which does not include conversation. Collect 
the papers and count the mistakes, noting only the following: 
spelling, punctuation, capitalization, uncrossed t's, undotted i's, 
misplaced words, word added, word omitted, wrong word used. 
Tabulate the mistakes to discover which each pupil is most likely 
to make and the average number of all for each pupil. (A " strong " 



278 The Work of the Teacher 

eighth grade showed an average of three; a "poor" eighth grade 
sixteen.) 

16. Collect all the written work of three consecutive days during 
the first month of school and mark each paper upon its neatness. 
Keep the papers. Three months later repeat the performance and 
compare the markings given. How many pupils show improve- 
ment in neatness? How many are less neat? Has improvement 
been among those most or least in need of it? What changes in 
your own standards may be discovered by a study of your marks 
on the two sets of papers? 

Readings 

Bagley : Classroom Management, XV. 

Ballou : Improving Instruction Through Educational Measurement. 

N. E. A. Report 1916, 196-203. 
Chapman and Rush : Scientific Measurement of Classroom Products 

(Scales and tests). 
Brown and Coffman : How to Teach Arithmetic, V (Marking papers). 
Judd, C. H. : Measuring the Work of the Public Schools. 
Strayer : The Teaching Process, IX. 
Strayer and Norsworthy : How to Teach, XV (Measurements). 



CHAPTER X 
ATTENDANCE, RECORDS, AND REPORTS 

The necessity of regular attendance. Regular and punctual 
attendance is essential to satisfactory school work. Teachers 
waste the time of pupils who attend regularly in the kindly 
but hopeless attempt to keep up to grade those whose attend- 
ance is full of interruptions. The pupil himself after repeated 
disappointing efforts to gain comprehension of material 
which cannot be understood without experience of the yester- 
days which he has missed, sinks into the discouraged attitude 
of one who dimly perceives that school activities have a 
meaning not for him. It is cruel injustice to permit or need- 
lessly cause a child to be absent so frequently that he little 
knows or cares what the school is doing. 

For the child who might otherwise never start to school 
most states provide a compulsory attendance law, but in 
many communities enforcement is so lax that, once started 
to school, habitual absence upon the part of many pupils, 
with its attendant tragedies, causes no excitement. The 
community which maintains a school has no right to be 
satisfied with its performance unless all to whom compulsory 
law applies attend regularly ; certainly attendance of less 
than ninety per cent cannot be looked upon with complacency. 

Parental responsibility for attendance. Aside from the 
school itself delinquent attendance may for convenience be 
attributed to the parent or to the child. Fortunately most 

279 



28o The Work of the Teacher 

parents are willing to undergo privation or actual hardship 
in order that their children may attend regularly. It is the 
unusual parent who is so short-sighted or grasping as delib- 
erately to choose his own comfort or a few dollars earned by 
children rather than school advantages. Most fathers and 
mothers who detain children at home do so because they lack 
appreciation of everyday attendance — the habit of going to 
school. There are still many persons who in childhood went 
to school irregularly and but a few months in the year. To 
such it may seem that a few days lost from a term of eight or 
ten months leaves a liberal margin of advantage over the 
schooling they enjoyed. The crop to be saved, the errand, 
the visit to a neighboring town, are immediate and loom large ; 
educational results grow slowly and imperceptibly. " Fodder 
time comes but once a year; please excuse James," is typical 
of excuses used by well-to-do parents, sincerely interested 
in their children's development, but inconsistently thoughtless 
of the results of such a course of action. 

If these parents knew that interrupted attendance gives 
the child scattered chapters of a continued story, intellectual 
bird-cages for which there are no birds, roofs to houses never 
built, they would realize the significance of constant presence 
at school. It is part of the teacher's work to educate this 
class of parents to the serious meaning of occasional absence, 
which no zealous educator can afford to excuse by assenting 
to the inferred statement, " A few days make no difference." 
So far as the weak or indulgent parent is concerned who says 
of a ten-year-old child, " Willie didn't want to go to school 
and I didn't (couldn't) make him," thus implying that he 
expects his child to do nothing not immediately pleasing, 
little can be said. The world has to do much of its work 



V 



Attendance, Records, and Reports 281 

when it would prefer to play ; the school is a serious under- 
taking which has to be continuously followed, regardless of 
moods or passing fancies. 

Pupils' responsibility for attendance — Truancy. In so 
far as the pupil is the cause of irregularity of attendance not 
justified, we have the problem of truancy. Ninety-five per 
cent of all truants are boys, fully eighty per cent being between 
the ages of eleven and fourteen inclusive. One careful study 
estimates the causes of truancy as follows : 

Fault of home 29% 

Dislike of school 26% 

Bad company 20% 

Fault of boy 11% 

Desire to work 10% 

Illness 4% 

These per cents are probably typical. Nearly all these causes 
may be transmuted — the boy may dislike school because of 
home influence, he may have fallen into bad company because 
of home or school, or desire to work because school has 
become distasteful. By no reasonable computation can the 
school itself be responsible for more than half of the truant 
cases, but it is doubtless accountable for too large a pro- 
portion. The vigilant teacher seeks to learn the cause of 
dislike for school, removes unnecessary affronts to juvenile 
liberty, even grants special concessions, but cannot assume 
responsibility for all the errant tendencies of boy vagrants 
impatient of restraint and entirely unconstrained except 
during school hours. 

Means of stimulating attendance, a. Vital interest in 
school work. From the teacher's standpoint the primary 



282 The Work of the Teacher 

means of securing regular attendance is to do work of such 
superior quality that parents and pupils will feel that absence 
represents real loss. Under influence of a strong personality 
in rural and village communities the school sometimes achieves 
such a position of first importance that little or no urging 
is required to secure the maximum of attendance. Minor 
prizes for perfect attendance influence small children ; com- 
petitions between schools or rooms are capable of arousing 
interest. Such devices may be very closely linked with school 
activities and made to appeal primarily to group rather than 
individualistic instincts. To be proud of one's school or a 
room with a fine record is distinctly in advance of pride in a 
prize or badge for attendance. 

h. Requiring excuses for absence. Requiring excuses from 
parents for every absence is a measure generally employed in 
graded schools. As a check upon truancy it serves except 
when excuses are written by generous companions of truants 
or by the culprits themselves. Many excuses sent by parents 
are hardly acceptable. " Please excuse James because of 
illness," although James is known to be playing with the ball 
team or skating on the pond during the time for which he is 
excused, does not satisfy the teacher who knows that the boy 
needs every day in school. " Please excuse Mary owing to a 
social engagement " is too often repeated because Mary has 
too many such engagements and so neglects her school 
duties. " Excuse Tom because I need him to work " from 
the largest property holder in the community raises the ques- 
tion whether the law ought to allow Tom's father to need him 
so often as to ruin his interest in school. The provisions and 
enforcement of the compulsory attendance law next discussed 
should be made clear and strong enough to leave less doubt 



Attendance, Records, and Reports 283 

in the mind of teachers as to what constitutes a vaHd 
excuse. 

c. Compulsory attendance laws. Compulsory education 
laws usually preceded laws upon compulsory attendance in 
the development of our state systems. It was apparently 
believed that if every local community were compelled to 
maintain adequate school facilities, attendance would take 
care of itself. Generally speaking, such confidence in educa- 
tional interest has been justified, but for the laggard tenth 
compulsory attendance laws have been enacted. Having 
provided at an immense cost opportunity for free education, 
the state insists that all must go to school. Compulsory laws, 
long opposed as socialistic or out of harmony with the Ameri- 
can ideal of freedom, including the right to grow up in igno- 
rance, now meet Httle opposition, much less perhaps than if 
such laws were relentlessly enforced. The inconveniences 
which might arise by taking the law seriously are mollified in 
small communities where enforcing officers have numerous 
relatives and wider personal acquaintance, making strict 
law enforcement of any kind improbable. 

Most compulsory laws require attendance during a period 
of years within prescribed age limits, as eight to fourteen, 
unless the pupil has completed a certain minimum of studies. 
As schools are now organized, it is evident that requiring 
specified accomplishments of all children would not be prac- 
ticable since only absurdly low attainment could be reached 
by some ; on the other hand, such laws, by making special 
provisions for their education, would compel the school more 
generally to take account of a considerable group of subnormal 
children who can gain very little from any amount of attention 
in the regular public school. Nearly every teacher has had 



284 The Work of the Teacher 

his work increased and made discouraging by the presence of 
pupils who merely occupied space or presented almost in- 
superable disciplinary problems. If these unfortunate chil- 
dren are required to attend, it should be for their advantage 
and without the loss their presence causes in the usual public 
school. 

3, Tardiness as a problem in attendance. Tardiness as a 
problem in attendance is sometimes as annoying as frequent 
absence. The moral significance for the pupil of habitually 
arriving a few minutes after the appointed time or becoming 
indifferent to the interests of others kept waiting is more 
serious for him than the loss of his own time or the instruc- 
tion he has missed. The " habit of being late " is bad enough 
to require vigorous measures for its correction. If the child 
tardy at school is prompt in all other relations, something 
wrong in his attitude toward the school is indicated, but it is 
usually the one from the dilatory, unsystematic home who 
causes the most trouble. The coming of age and the develop- 
ment of certain families may be traced by the tardy marks in 
teachers' registers. Tardiness, like absence, often requires 
education of parents for its elimination. 

The child with a defective time sense should not be depended 
upon to hear the bell or start himself to school. If it is a case 
of loitering on the way, the enticing influence of daily opening 
exercises has been found effective. During winter weather, 
when short days increase immeasurably the probability of 
tardiness, no defective heating apparatus or slowness of 
janitor service should give to the child reason to picture an 
hour or two of shivering in a cold seat while the schoolroom is 
reaching a comfortable temperature. Generally speaking, it is 
better to depend upon the attraction of a live school than to 



Attendance, Records, and Reports 285 

exert other force. One writer suggests an occasional spank- 
ing to increase punctuality among small pupils ; using such 
measures, there would surely be danger that the child would 
make the wrong association. " School is the place where I 
am spanked ; I must for that reason hurry and be on time " 
ends in a conclusion some would not reach. If any spanking 
is required, it might be more productive of results if ad- 
ministered at home. 

Occasionally punctuality is made a fetish — ■ rated out of 
all proportion to its real importance. It should never be 
considered such a disgrace to be a few minutes late that the 
pupil chooses a day of idle absence instead. Circumstances 
may occur in which it is better to be tardy than to slight more 
important obligations. 

A form of tardiness sometimes found in rural and village 
schools is that of permitting pupils to spend entirely too long 
a time in reaching their places after the signal for assembling 
in the schoolroom. Responsibility for this cannot be shared 
with the home as in the case of tardiness strictly construed ; 
the teacher alone is accountable for such useless waste and 
encouragement of dilatory habits. The common expedient of 
ringing two bells, the first a five-minute or "get a drink " 
bell, should be universally followed; when this is done, 
promptness in getting into seats or at work should be rigidly 
insisted upon. 

4. Records and reports. The secretarial or clerical work of 
the teacher includes keeping records and making reports to 
school officers or to parents. Both should be accurate, correct 
in form, and kept with the least possible expenditure of time. 
A few general suggestions are made relating to performance 
of clerical duties. 



286 The Work of the Teacher 

a. Economy and accuracy in keeping records and making 
reports. Records of attendance and scholarship should be 
kept up to date ; falling behind and depending upon memory 
results in uncertainty, inaccuracy, and increased labor. To 
insure accuracy and economy a definite time should be reserved 
for taking the attendance. To call the entire roll, requiring 
each pupil to report " present," is foolish waste of time after 
the first few days or weeks. Names, faces, and seating once 
learned, a glance over the room is sufficient to discover the 
absentees. In order to keep the record intelligently the 
teacher must know the law or custom concerning school 
holidays, half and quarter days' attendance, and withdrawals. 
Alphabetical order in all lists of names should be maintained. 
In the long run this proves economical, and it is surprising 
that so many teachers have not adopted such arrangement 
more generally in their work. 

Anything worth recording or reporting should be registered 
accurately. Many report forms call for items which are a 
check upon each other. Thus the number of days taught, 
total number of days attended by all pupils, and average 
daily attendance must be consistent, since from any two the 
third may be computed. It is always humiliating to be found 
incorrect in reporting such items because it seems to indicate 
a doubly careless attitude. The per cent of correctness 
among teachers' reports is scarcely as high as might be expected 
from persons who are so constantly emphasizing the impor- 
tance of accuracy. " I never received successively ten correct 
monthly reports," says a county superintendent. " Though 
directions are plainly printed upon all our blanks and I have 
been emphasizing the matter, arrangement of names still 
indicates that a fourth of my teachers have never learned or 



Attendance, Records, and Reports 287 

at least cannot use the alphabet," a city superintendent 
remarks. It is part of the teacher's work to master clerical 
technique so that reports may be made neatly, precisely, and 
with economy of time. 

b. Reports to school officers. From daily records kept in 
the school register or on attendance cards reports must be 
made. Failing to realize their importance teachers sometimes 
regard these as a burden. Many items called for seem trivial, 
— not closely related to the real things of education. The 
number of cases of absence is less significant than the total 
hours of serious attention pupils pay to worth-while instruc- 
tion, but the former item we can measure and the latter we 
cannot. By means of reports comparisons may be made 
which reveal the effectiveness of such attendance measures as 
are adopted. 

Since we have no way of estimating more directly what the 
school does for the pupil, it is necessary to reckon his contact 
with school education in terms of bodily presence, assuming 
that this will roughly correspond with the degree of his 
attainment due to school activities. Even when a good 
reason cannot be found for a report required by law, nothing 
is gained by faultfinding delay. If the useless report must 
finally be made, the sooner it is in the hands of those legally 
designated to receive it, the sooner the teacher is free to devote 
attention to more significant duties without the impending 
sense of an unpleasant bit of routine postponed. 

c. Reports to parents. Unsatisfactory experience with re- 
port cards of the conventional type has led to their abandon- 
ment in some schools. The chief objections alleged have 
been that they do not give fathers and mothers information 
about the progress of their children ; that they are mis- 



288 The Work of the Teacher 

understood ; that parents are indifferent to them, often 
affixing their signature without reading the report. In lieu 
of reports, some schools send home specimens of the pupil's 
written work, a good device occasionally, but not one which 
can replace other means. Such " samples " place the burden 
of judging upon many parents not capable of discerning good 
from poor in school attainment. If the pupil writes very 
much better than any of his near kindred, his papers are 
likely to seem quite satisfactory. 

The teacher knows better than any one else whether proper 
progress is being made. Further, representative specimens 
cannot be sent except in subjects which can be reduced to 
writing or shown in a constructive project. The difference 
between copied material and the pupil's own work is not 
always evident to parents. 

Instead of issuing reports one school publishes this state- 
ment : " No regular report cards will be sent parents. So 
long as no reports are sent, parents may know that their 
children are doing satisfactory work. Use the telephone 
frequently or come to school if you want detailed or special 
information." This plan frees teachers from a considerable 
amount of clerical work, and, if understood by parents, has 
much to recommend it. Reports being less a matter of 
course should correspondingly command increased attention 
from the parents of children not making a success of their 
school career. 

If reports are sent to parents, care should be taken to over- 
come the objections to them which have been mentioned. 
The card usually employed is too small to include more than 
the merest statement of the pupil's standing. This much 
should at least be truthfully and unmistakably set forth so 



Attendance, Records, and Reports 289 

that the parent may learn whether his child's work is of 
passing or failing quality and whether its rank is near the 
upper or the lower end of the group with which he is classed. 
It has been intimated in the chapter on estimating results 
that many teacher's marks have in themselves little meaning. 
Reports to parents are much more effective in enlisting 
cooperation of the home, which is their chief purpose, if in 
addition to marks information is added giving specific reasons 
for defective or unsatisfactory work and suggesting ways 
in which the home may help to make it better. The follow- 
ing, taken from the " remarks " column of the large cards 
issued in one school, are typical of what may be included. 

Oral Reading. Defective in expression and lacks readiness. Read- 
ing aloud at home would help. The teacher will gladly select 
and send home suitable books from the school library for this 
purpose. 

Arithmetic. Difficult because he still does not know the multi- 
plication table. Should practice 7 times 9, 8 times 7, and 8 
times 9. 

Remarks. (General.) Often forgets work assigned for prepara- 
tion at home. Please remind him of this, for he seems willing 
and capable. Frequent absence has broken into his work. 

An interesting device for enlisting home cooperation is 
the use of a report which calls for parents' estimate of home 
tasks in addition to the teacher's report of school standing. 
The teacher signs the report from the parent and the parent 
that of the school. Sometimes the two reports are averaged 
together, thus in a sense giving the pupil school credit for 
home duties well performed. More directly, credit is some- 
times given in certain school subjects for projects completed 



290 The Work of the Teacher 

under parental supervision, the pupil meanwhile keeping a 
systematic record which is presented to the teacher and 
approved. As an expedient to catch the interest of fathers 
and mothers and to vitalize instruction in subjects which 
lend themselves to such connections, school credit for home 
duties and projects has sometimes been very effective. 
When carried to the extreme of excusing a child from lessons 
in a much-needed subject because she has washed the dishes, 
or raising a boy's scholarship record because he has split the 
kindling or cared for the horses, there is a danger of cheapening 
school work. School experiences are at least supposed to be 
selected because of their educative value ; home tasks imposed 
upon children are often only of economic significance, mechani- 
cal and uneducative except in the sense that any duty faith- 
fully or exactly performed has an undoubted moral value. 



Attendance, Records, and Reports 



291 



Exercises 

1. What are the principal reasons for non-attendance among 
children of school age in your community? What provision is 
there for enforcing compulsory attendance? 

2. Unsatisfactory parental attitude toward attendance may be 
classified as indifferent, lax, indulgent, or selfish. How may each 
of these attitudes be changed and parents educated concerning the 
importance of regular attendance? 

3. Find the average daily attendance and the per cent of at- 
tendance of the school represented by the accompanying section 
of a school register. 



Naues 


M 


T 
E 


w 


T 

X 


F 

X 

X 


* 
± 

5 


M 
X 


T 

X 

X 


w 

X 

t 


T 


F 


* 

_5_ 
2 
5 
S 


M 


T 

t 
X 


W 

t 

X 
E 


T 


F 


* 

_5_ 
5 
_5_ 


M 


T 

X 
X 

7 


w 


T 


F 


Aley, Robert 


Clark, Charles 


E 
E 


- 


— 


Cluney, Mary 


House, Kittie 


E 

E 
E 
E 


X 


- 


t 


Hoyt, Ray 


Myers, Minnie 


Simmons, Eugene 


Wellman, Scott 



Explanation : E, entered ; / absent morning session ; \ absent afternoon session ; 
t, tardy ; * total for week. 

4. Where would you place the blame if pupils tamper with re- 
ports sent to parents or forge parents' signatures ? 

5. Suggest remedies for the following misunderstandings of 
teachers' marks. 

(a) A parent found fault because his son was not promoted 
although his report cards showed no marks in basal subjects below 
70 per cent. He supposed this was satisfactory, but was informed 
that 80 was the passing mark and that an a^verage of 85 was re- 
quired. 

Q)) Parent was alarmed because child's marks were very low. 



292 The Work of the Teacher 

He consulted the teacher, who reassured him, saying with a Httle 
pride, "He is one of the best in the class; I never give anything 
but low marks." 

(c) A pupil complained because he was not promoted in spite 
of the fact that every mark on his report cards throughout the year 
had been of passing grade. The teacher explained that he had been 
given these marks partly because he tried so hard. 

{d) A teacher dreads the approach of each month's end because 
report cards must be issued and the pupils always complain about 
their marks, saying unkind things about each other and about the 
teacher. 

{e) A sixth-grade pupil received a mark of 87 and was scolded 
at home for not making a better record. His brother in the fifth 
grade received 93 and was complimented upon his standing. As it 
happened the sixth-grade pupil had the highest mark given in his 
class, while the fifth-grader's mark was below the average for his 
room. 

6. Give reasons for each of the following suggestions concerning 
reports to parents and add others of your own. 

(a) Avoid complimenting a pupil on account of native abihty 
or censuring him for lack of it. 

ib) Always read twice, or have another read, comments upon a 
report card sent to parents, in order to avoid anything which might 
be misunderstood or give offense. 

(c) Use few superlatives in reporting a pupil's progress. "One 
of the best " and " there are none better " are much safer than " the 
best in the class" ; they are also more accurate in many cases, since 
it is not always a simple matter to determine preeminence of a 
single pupil. 

Readings 

Bagley : Classroom Management, V. 

Snedden and Allen : School Reports and School Efficiency, II-V. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE TEACHER AND EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS 

The purpose of educational statistics. The application of 
statistical methods to the study of educational problems is 
becoming more and more general, and a slight appreciation 
of such studies should be the possession of every teacher. A 
flippant remark attributes the invention of statistics to the 
devil ; they are said by persons but slightly acquainted with 
their value to be dry and uninteresting; many teachers say 
they are hard to understand and apparently make Httle 
effort to comprehend them. But one who has this attitude 
should remember that we owe much of modern progress to 
painstaking, exhaustive, scientific use of statistics. What is 
merely assumed to be true becomes established fact, and 
problems which are too general or involve too many instances 
for rehable conclusions from individual experience are solved 
by this means. 

Briefly, the purpose of using statistics is to bring to bear 
upon any question under investigation a very much larger 
number of cases than mere observation, however wide, can 
call to its support. Scientific investigation, by their use, 
becomes the enemy of superstition, exaggeration, vague 
conjecture, jumping at conclusions, and -fixed beliefs which 
rest only upon meagerly established traditions. In all social 
fields many accepted beliefs and practices have been taken 

293 



294 The Work of the Teacher 

for granted rather than demonstrated as wise or best ; some 
of these would defy any method of proof yet devised and 
maintain their place unquestioned ; upon others there is a 
difference of opinion which can be settled only by extensive 
investigation. A few examples of educational questions and 
measurement which can by this means be settled beyond 
reasonable controversy may be mentioned by way of illus- 
tration. 

A common experience of alumni and former students return- 
ing after a period of years to the school previously attended 
is to find those now in school younger than their classmates of 
earlier days. They seem younger and more immature because, 
much more than he thinks, the observer's maturity and wisdom 
have come to him since leaving school. Statistically it is 
easy to find the truth of the matter, which often does not 
agree with general and unmathematical impression. 

How do compulsory attendance laws affect the amount of 
illiteracy? The answer of mere observation varies from that 
of the optimist, in the law-enforcing community, to the 
opinion of the pessimist, where little heed is given to the law. 
The correct answer can be given only by state or nation wide 
statistical studies extending through many years. Such 
illustrations should be sufficient to show that without the 
use of statistics by somebody, guiding and controlling our 
school systems would be impossible ; plans for the future 
can be made intelHgently only in the light of statistical 
evidence concerning needs, costs, and results in the past. 

Of recent years statistical methods have been applied to 
many problems closely related to the work of public school 
teachers. Studies made by research students of education 
and the school surveys which have recently formed so large 



The Teacher and Educational Statistics 



295 



a portion of current educational literature have great interest 
for teachers with an elementary knowledge of statistical 
terms and methods. With better understanding teachers 
may widen their interest in professional reading and see new 
meanings in the reports and investigations for which they are 
so often called upon to supply the original data. Intelligent 
cooperation in filling out blanks has many advantages over 
apathetic, mechanical compliance with routine orders. The 
teacher who has an appreciation of a few statistical studies 
finds less irksome the laborious details which form the raw 
material of new researches. To aid in developing such an 
intelligent interest, untechnical explanations of terms 
commonly used but not universally understood by teachers 
are given in the following pages. Normal curve of distri- 
bution, mode, and median are discussed in succession. 

The normal curve of distribution. The normal curve of 
distribution, or probability curve, without cumbering the 
explanation with any mathematical language, is a bell-like 
figure, represented in the accompanying drawings. 




(I) (II) (III) 

Three Forms of the Normal Curve of Distribution. 
(All three represent symmetrical distribution.) 



The area of the figure represents the distribution of cases 
of most natural phenomena and, it may reasonably be assumed, 
of mental traits and attainment. The meaning of this 



296 The Work of the Teacher 

will be most conveniently understood through a concrete 
illustration. Suppose that each of the thousand dots on the 
surface of figure II represented a man selected at random 
from all the men in the country and arranged according to 
their height, the tallest at A, the shortest at B, and the 
remainder ranging between these extremes. If the thousand 
happen to be exactly typical of all men in the country and 
we ignore measures of less than an inch, it will be found 
that the largest number of cases represented in the middle 
of the curve are about 68 inches tall ; above and below this 
height an equal number are 69 and 67 inches respectively, 
with 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 inches in a decreasing number of 
cases continuing the series above and 66, 65, 64, 63, 62, 61, 
below the middle point (Figure III). 

This is, of course, only a graphical way of showing that by 
far the most men are of average stature and the number who 
are taller or shorter decreases according to the degree of 
variation from the average. It is well to bear in mind that 
this symmetrical distribution may be assumed with almost 
absolute certainty if a very great number of cases be con- 
sidered. Likewise one must constantly be on guard against 
applying the probabiUty curve idea rigidly in thinking or 
measuring which involves small groups. Five or ten men of 
great stature might be met in succession as one walks along 
the street, but a hundred or a thousand men would be sure 
to include many of average height and a few who were very 
small. All pupils of a small class might be very bright; 
perhaps no very large class ever failed to include some who 
were mediocre or even inferior in ability. 

Application of normal curve of distribution. The normal 
distribution illustrated in the example given may reasonably 



The Teacher and Educational Statistics 297 

be supposed to apply in all mental and social fields. No 
matter what the quality, it is safe to presuppose many cases 
not far from average and few extremes. In most grades a few 
pupils are very young, a few much over age, and the great 
majority not far from normal age. Such examples of dis- 
tribution according to the probability curve could be noted 
almost without limit in school relations. A teacher who thinks 
out carefully the meaning of the normal curve has a guide 
in steadying his estimates of pupils. Most classes or rooms 
have a few excellent pupils, approximately the same number 
of very httle ability or attainment, and a great middle group 
ranging between these extremes. If teachers' marks corre- 
spond to or indicate relative standing at all accurately, it is 
unlikely that a large per cent of pupils will be awarded either 
very high or very low marks. It is ahnost equally unlikely 
that no extreme cases will be found in large classes. Exactly 
balanced distribution should not be universally expected ; a 
" strong " class would show an unusual number of high marks, 
a " weak " class of low. This phase of the subject has been 
discussed in the chapter upon testing and estimating results. 

Quartiles and quintiles ; mode ; symmetrical distribution. 
Some further definitions with illustrative examples are given. 
If we begin at A in the preceding illustration and count the 
tallest, or at B with the shortest, until a fifth, a fourth, or a 
third are included, the area embraced is called quintile, 
quartile, or tertile respectively. 

A " symmetrical distribution " means that an equal number 
of cases occur at any given point below or above the middle 
of the series. In the accompanying symmetrical arrangement, 
the number of cases 5, 10, or 15 per cent below 80 is equal 
to the number 5, 10, or 15 per cent above 80. 



298 The Work of the Teacher 

NcMBER OF Cases , Makes 

I 95 

2 90 

4 85 

7 80 

4 75 

2 70 

I 6s 

The quality of which there are the greatest number of 
cases is called the mode. In the series just noted 80 is the 
mode. If there were also seven cases of "65," the series 
would be called " bimodal " — having two modes. 

The median. The median quality is that above and below 
which an equal number of cases occur. The median quality 
in the illustration is 80, the eleventh case counting from 
above or from below falling within the group of seven rated 
at 80. The median is usually not far from the average, 
with which in this case it exactly coincides. 

I. Advantages of median over average. Certain advantages 
in the use of the median have led to its very general adoption 
instead of the more familiar average. As will be shown, it is 
more easily computed if the number of cases is very great. 
And while nearly the same as the average in many instances, 
it sometimes represents tendencies more accurately. Thus 
the average wealth of ten men owning property valued 
respectively at $10, $10, $10, $10, $10, $10, $100, $100, 
$1000, and $1,000,000 is somewhat more than $100,000; 
the median amount is $10. To say that the average fortune 
of the group is $100,000 is misleading, since this is ten thousand 
times the proper figure for the majority of those considered ; 
to speak of the median fortune as ten dollars represents the 



The Teacher and Educational Statistics 299 

financial condition of most of the group. " As a rule these 
men have about ten dollars " is a more reliable description 
than " The average fortune of these men is more than 
$100,000." Distribution is often of more consequence in ar- 
riving at an estimate of conditions than any other factor. 

A familiar example showing the misleading nature of 
averages is found in statistics of teachers' salaries. In many 
tabulations superintendents' and principals' salaries are 
included in computation. Note the inaccuracy involved in 
interpreting the statement " The average salary of our 
teachers is $67.31 " in reference to a small system employing 

I Superintendent at $200 a month 

I Principal at 150 a month 

4 Principals at 100 a month 

20 Teachers at 50 a month 

Of this group the median salary is fifty dollars a month. The 
average may be correctly given, but the unskilled reader of 
the statement is likely to acquire the erroneous notion that 
most teachers are receiving nearly seventy dollars. Of course 
greater accuracy would result from separating the salaries 
of administrative ofi&cers from those of regular teachers, but 
educational statistics contain many such defective groupings, 
in some of which fallacious conclusions become apparent to 
one who uses medians occasionally instead of accepting in- 
ferences based upon averages. 

A pupil whose marks are 80, 80, 90, 80, and 10 is more 
accurately characterized as one who usually receives about 80 
(median 80) than one whose average in 68, since accidental 
and quite unusual circumstances may account for the single 
departure from his accustomed standard. In measuring the 



300 The Work of the Teacher 

attainment of all pupils in a schoolroom or system, the 
standard reached by the majority is of greater significance in 
estimating the efJectivenes of instruction than remarkably 
high or low efficiency upon the part of an exceptional few. 
This the median shows, only slightly affected by extreme 
cases. 

2. How to compute the median. The median is found by 
arranging all cases in a series according to the quality being 
measured and then counting from either extreme until the 
exact middle of the series is reached. Even when computation 
is necessary, only arithmetic is involved, and this of a type 
requiring accuracy rather than knowledge of a complicated 
process. To assist teachers in learning to compute medians 
examples are worked out and explained in the succeeding 
paragraphs. For the majority of persons the most economical 
mode of mastering such processes is to solve each example while 
it is being studied and then to make similar problems based 
upon familiar conditions related to school work. 

Number of Cases Mass 

3 Pupils received 98 



12 Pupils 


received 


93 


8 Pupils 


received 


88 


I Pupil 


received 


83 


7 Pupils 


received 


78 


10 Pupils 


received 


73 


4 Pupils 


received 


68 


2 Pupils 


received 


63 


otal 47 






Mode 93 






Median ?>2, 






Average 82.36 







The Teacher and Edticational Statistics 301 

The total number of cases is 47. The median quaUty is 
evidently that above and below which 23 cases are found. 
Counting cases from above and from below this is found to 
be 83, the median mark of the group. This illustration is 
rendered simple by virtue of the fact that the cases are already 
arranged in a series, and because there is but one case of the 
median mark. 

3. Discrete and continuous series. Before considering the 
next example the distinction between discrete and continuous 
series will be explained. To one who has given the matter 
little thought there seems to be slight difference mathemati- 
cally between saying that ten pupils spelled correctly eighty 
words out of a hundred, thus receiving a mark of 80, and say- 
ing that ten pupils received 80 in handwriting or language as 
measured by a scale. In the first instance, which represents 
measuring in a discrete series, the pupil receives credit upon 
an absolute scale for exactly what he has done. If he spells 
eighty words correctly, his mark is 80 ; until he spells the 
eightieth word his mark remains 79 ; it will be 80 unless he is 
able to spell another, in which case his mark becomes 81. The 
mark 80 evidently includes the space from 80 to 80.9999... 
since no matter how nearly he may spell the next word he 
adds nothing to his mark until he actually does spell it 
correctly. 

A discrete series is much like a flight of stairs : one remains 
upon a given step until he is able to take the next. Among 
ten pupils receiving the mark 80 in spelling some may have 
been barely able to spell eighty words ; others could almost 
spell eighty-one. In such discrete series 'only counting the 
number of correct cases is necessary ; all results are either 
correct or incorrect. Computation in arithmetic, ability to 



302 The Work of the Teacher 

remember lists of names or words, are other examples of 
school work in which the number of correct or incorrect cases 
accurately determines standing. In a series thought of as 
continuous the question is not that of correctness or in- 
correctness but of relative quality. The pupil who says four 
plus two equals seven is not considered more accurate than his 
classmate who gives the result as eight or nine ; all are wrong 
and worthy of no credit. 

But if one is judging the quality of handwriting, no specimen 
is correct or incorrect, though one is superior to another. It 
is not difficult to imagine that a thousand specimens might 
constitute a series, arranged progressively from the poorest 
to the best, in which no two were of exactly equal merit. 
Such critical ranking of handwriting samples would have no 
practical value ; instead, scales are used including ten or a 
dozen quality samples to which all may be referred. Some 
may be slightly below or above the quality to which they are 
assigned, but are nearer to this than to the next step. If a 
specimen were clearly better than quality fourteen and inferior 
to fifteen, the only problem is to determine which it most nearly 
approaches. If the decision is that it is nearer quality fifteen, 
this means that if rated exactly, it would be above fourteen 
and one half. Likewise " nearer fifteen than sixteen " might 
reasonably be thought of as between fifteen and fifteen and 
one half. It may thus be seen that all between fourteen and a 
half and fifteen and a half (15.4999,..) in a continuous series 
could be rated as quality fifteen. Ten samples of hand- 
writing, for example, rated as quality fifteen might be, if more 
accurately estimated, 14.6, 14.7, 14.8, 14.9, 14.92, 15, 15. i, 
15-3) i5-35> s-iid 15.4. In measuring qualities which may be 
thought of as forming a continuous series, each step includes 



The Teacher and Educational Statistics 303 

half the intervals immediately below and above the exact 
quality indicated by the mark itself. 

Generally speaking, it is well to think of a teacher's marks 
as based upon a continuous rather than a discrete series ; 
since it is impractical to give each case an exact rating, every 
mark is made to include some who receive slightly more 
than a mathematically exact estimate would entitle them to 
and about as many a little less. In most types of work it is 
not a question of exactly right or exactly wrong but a matter 
of relativity. Since it is necessary to know whether a series 
is considered discrete or continuous before the median can be 
accurately established, a restatement of the meaning of a mark 
in each is given by way of summary. 

If the series is considered discrete, as in marking spelling 
lists, which are absolutely correct or incorrect, " 15 " in- 
cludes 15.00 to 15.999.... 

If the series is considered continuous, as in estimating the 
quality of handwriting, relatively, " 15 " includes 14.50 to 

I5-499— 

4. Finding median in a continuous series. In the illus- 
trative example next given, the measurement of handwriting 
in all the eighth grades of a small city is tabulated. The 
entire 735 cases should be thought of as forming a continuous 
series ; each quality listed includes samples below and above 
it in excellence, but nearer to it than to the scale quality above 
or below. The total number of cases being 735, it is evident 
that the 368th case from either extreme includes the median 
quality, which is that of the middle point in the series, 367.5. 
Counting from the lower end of the series, 40 plus 70 
plus 90 plus 70, it is found that 270 cases are below 
quality eleven. This leaves 97.5 cases to be taken before 



304 



The Work of the Teacher 



the median 367.5 is reached. Since there are 200 cases 
of the eleven quaHty, |^ of the interval beginning at 
10.50, the lower limit of quality eleven, must be added to 10.50 
to find the exact median quality. This amount — .4875 — 
being added, shows the median to be 10.9875. The same 
result could have been found by subtracting ^Hsr from 
the upper limit of quality eleven, 11.4999.... 



Number oh 


Cases 


Quality 


Inclusion or Each Quality Considered as 
Continuous Series 


40 




7 


6.5 


7-499 


70 




8 


7-5 


8.499 


90 




9 


8.5 


9-499 


70 




10 


9-5 


10.499 


200 




II 


10.5 


11.499 


100 




12 


"•5 


12.499 


60 




13 


12.S 


13-499 


56 




14 


13-5 


14.499 - 


34 




IS 


14-5 


15.499 ••• 


12 




16 


15-5 


16.499 - 


3 




17 


16.S 


17.499 - 


Total 735 Cases 









Handwriting measured by Thorndike scale. Median quality 10.9875. 



5. Abridged process of finding median. As was stated, it is 
less laborious to find medians than averages if many cases 
must be considered. In the illustration just used mere 
inspection would be sufl&cient to warrant the assumption that 
the median is somewhere in quality ten, eleven, or twelve. 
It then becomes unnecessary to estimate papers below or 
above these qualities further than to make sure of this in- 
feriority or superiority. This being safely established, such 
papers need no further study; they are merely counted 



The Teacher and Educational Statistics 305 

below or above the range in which the median probably falls. 
The series thus abridged becomes 

200 cases below quality 10 
70 cases quality 10 
200 cases quality 11 
100 cases quality 12 
165 cases above quality 12 

Familiarity with such measurements renders it possible to 
locate the median very accurately by approximation, thus 
reducing the necessity for most of the tabulation, if only the 
median is to be found. A still more accurate estimate in this 
illustration would have assumed at once that the median was 
located in the eleven quality. This greatly abridged series 
would be 

270 cases below quality 11 

200 cases quality 11 

265 cases above quality 11 

The work may be still further abridged by use of a formula, 
but additional discussion would extend beyond the purpose 
of this treatment, which is to explain the use of the median 
and an easily comprehended method for its calculation. 

Study of statistical methods and terms worth while for 
teachers. The advantages to a teacher's thinking of studying 
the topics treated in this chapter are sufl&cient to justify 
great effort in their mastery. After working through the 
illustrations and the exercises at the close of the chapter, 
the same methods of measurement should be applied to 
such problems as retardation scholarship marks, scores in 
standard tests, and attendance in the school where one is 



3o6 



The Work of the Teacher 



working. The resulting clearer comprehension of what is 
being accomplished, understanding of similar studies made by 
others, and a wiUingness to cooperate in furnishing materials 
for statistical tabulation, even when their purpose is not fully- 
understood, will quickly prove that time spent upon such 
discussions does not deflect energy from the universally 
demanded responsibilities of the schoolroom itself. 



Exercises 

1. Name some phases of school work which you think cannot be 
statistically measured. Why are they not measurable? Name 
some educational questions not yet settled which in your opinion 
may sometime be settled by statistics. 

2. The accompanying "age-grade" table shows the number of 
pupils of each age in every grade of a ward school. Numbers rep- 
resenting children of normal age are underscored ; those younger 
are "accelerated," those older are "retarded." Thus in the fourth 
grade there are thirty-one of normal age, one is accelerated, and five 
are retarded. 



Age 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


Totals 


Grade I 


27 


8 


2 


I 


















38 


n 


I 


20 


7 


2 


4 
















34 


III 




2 


23 


5 


3 




I 


I 










35 


IV 






I 


26 


5 


I 


3 


I 










37 


V 








5 


24 


7 




2 


I 








39 


VI 










I 


19 


9 


2 


2 




2 




35 


VII 












4 


24 


9 


2 


I 


I 




41 


VIII 














I 


20 


9 


I 




3 


34 


Totals 


28 


30 


33 


39 


37 


31 


38 


35 


14 


2 


3 


3 


293 



The Teacher and Educational Statistics 307 

Find the per cent of retardation and acceleration in each grade 
and in the school. Compare the average with the median age in 
each grade. Make a similar age-grade table for a school with 
which you are acquainted. 

3. Find the median and average rate of handwriting in the in- 
termediate grades of a school system as indicated by the accom- 
panying data. Make a graphical representation to accompany 
your study. 



Number of 


Letters per 


Number ov 


Letters per 


Cases 


Minute 


Cases 


Minute 


I 


40 


125 


62 


6 


46 


93 


63 


12 


49 


88 


64 


20 


SO 


82 


65 


21 


SI 


37 


66 


25 


52 


98 


67 


36 


53 


45 


68 


SO 


54 


SI 


69 


SI 


55 


35 


70 


62 


56 


22 


71 


71 


57 


28 


72 


121 


58 


23 


74 


90 


59 


9 


75 


94 


60 


I 


77 


"3 


61 


I 


86 






2 


91 



4. Find the average, median, and modal age of the pupils in 
your schoolroom. 

5. Estimate your vocabulary — the words of which you have at 
least some understanding — by ascertaining how many words you 
know upon every fiftieth page of a dictionary and multiplying the 
resulting average by the total number of pages in the book. How 
accurate would this estimate be? Form a similar estimate upon 
the basis of ten other pages selected at random. Compare the two 
estimates, What is your conclusion with regard to the number of 



3o8 The Work of the Teacher 

cases it is necessary to consider in order to secure a fairly reliable 
estimate ? 

Readings 

Snedden and Allen : School Reports and School Efficiency, I. 
Thorndike, E. L. : Mental and Social Measurements, 7-27, 32-41. 
See also references at close of Chapter IX. 



CHAPTER Xn 

THE TEACHER 

The importance of the teacher. The value of every school 
depends primarily upon the teacher. With palatial buildings 
and magnificent equipment no community has an effective 
school if the teachers are of indifferent abihty. On the other 
hand, superior, if not the best work is possible in spite of in- 
adequate physical conditions and meager supply of every 
teaching accessory if only the teacher is the right person. 
While the fact has been emphasized throughout that the char- 
acter of the child the home furnishes determines the product 
of education more than anything the school itself can do, such 
is the power of personal influence that pupils daily become 
what their teachers are. The teacher who is nervous, nagging, 
stupid, obstinate, or superficial invites discord and reflects 
his objectionable qualities by mere presence ; one who is 
normal, vigorous, alert, sympathetic, or thorough carries the 
spirit of energy and cooperation. 

When all schoolrooms are supplied with teachers of such 
wholesome influence, children will " go to school and not be 
sent — or sentenced " — as is now the case in too many schools 
and less potentially excellent human material will be spoiled. 
Far more significant than any contemplated changes in the 
curriculum is the supply of excellent teachers, since the teacher 
is the curriculum. Imagine a lesson taught by the finest teacher 

309 



3IO The Work of the Teacher 

of your acquaintance and then picture what the poorest 
teacher you ever knew would do with the same material ; 
how willingly and profitably pupils attend in the first case ! 
How kind nature must be not to permit utter ruin for those 
who must endure the second ! If we seriously purpose to de- 
velop pupils into useful units of society, furnish schools, and 
compel attendance, what economy can justify selection of any 
except capable and inspiring teachers? 

Character and selection of the teaching force, i. Efect 
of adverse criticism upon the supply of teachers. For the all- 
important work of teaching, what kind of persons does society 
select ? The answer may be given from many angles. " The 
teaching profession is filled with uneconomic women and 
quiet-loving men," says one writer. Foreign visitors to our 
schools find teachers the least satisfactory element in our 
educational structure, while American students of European 
schools agree essentially that only in their teaching corps do 
the schools of the older countries excel ours. 

The compensation of teachers, known by common obser- 
vation to be low, has sometimes been proved by extensive 
investigations to be less than is paid to skilled tradesmen or 
even unskilled laborers, and the inference is sometimes drawn 
that the state does not care much who teaches its children or 
it would offer better inducements. Studies of teachers' sal- 
aries, exhaustive as some may seem, frequently are misunder- 
stood (as are many of the other uncomplimentary statements 
about the status of the teacher), and one consequence of so 
much uncritical publicity is that young persons of energy and 
ambition are loath to enter teaching or welcome the first op- 
portunity to escape a profession which is said to offer so little. 
Perhaps too loosely uttered pronouncements that teachers 



The Teacher 311 

are usually poorly trained and paid proportionately exercise 
a depressing influence upon the craft spirit of those who think 
too much of a teaching career to give it up. 

Instead of accepting adverse generalizations about the 
teaching profession it is wiser to scrutinize such statements 
with extreme caution. To begin with, most conclusions 
based upon comparisons between teachers and other profes- 
sional groups are rendered unreliable by the inclusion of a 
multitude who are not professionally trained — a group not 
found in the professions usually employed by way of com- 
parison. To compare those in community influence, financial 
remuneration or recognition of any other sort with physicians 
or lawyers is misleading. If only teachers of thorough prep- 
aration are included in one's thinking, it will be found that in 
refinement, salary, or general social significance discrepancies 
are not so glaring. Teaching, though not a richly rewarded 
profession, is furnishing a satisfactory career to thousands of 
well-qualified teachers who suffer few of the inconveniences 
we are likely to associate with the lower levels of the service 
among the immature or unqualified. 

2. Need of awakening sentiment for better teachers. While 
it may directly help teachers very little to hear the short- 
comings of the profession reiterated, it is eminently desirable 
to bring home to the public generally the necessity for having 
only strong, well-trained teachers. In some parts of the 
country, especially among rural and village schools, we have 
accustomed ourselves to a low level of teaching ability. Some 
communities measure all educational events in comparison 
with some long ago when a real leader was in charge of the 
school, and others have never had a thoroughly good teacher 
with which to compare a long succession of the more or less 



312 The Work of the Teacher 

unsatisfactory. In a general way all agree to the need of 
proper qualifications ; in concrete, specific, personal situations 
we are not shocked at " I know she is not a good teacher, but 
she will do for that room," or " A is not as good as B, but she 
will work for less money and there are only little children in 
school this year " ; or " She is only sixteen, but no one else 
has applied." When there is a prospect of very inferior 
teachers for his own children, the average American citizen 
is likely to become educated to the universal need of more 
effective service, but our social intelligence upon the subject 
is not yet widespread enough to achieve results commensurate 
with the importance of the problem. 

Teachers have been accused of talking too much about their 
own salaries. Naturally patrons and voters generally consider 
those with which they are acquainted and arrive at the con- 
clusion that a small number are not well enough paid, a few 
receive entirely too much, — poor teachers always do, — and 
the majority are given about what they earn or they would 
not teach. Such a course of reasoning is quite justified, but 
it ignores the vital school issue. The ultimate purpose of in- 
creased compensation is not so much to augment the remunera- 
tion of the present teaching force as to induce a better quali- 
fied group to take their places in response to increased salaries 
— the natural economic consequence. When a community 
takes its educational problem seriously, and intelligently 
seeks an improved teaching corps, the use of more money 
usually proves to be one of the most effective means of bring- 
ing results. If we become intelligently earnest in relation to 
education, those who are too young and ignorant of life or too 
old and unsympathetic will no longer be teachers. 

3. Need of more intelligent and effective selection. In addi- 



The Teacher 313 

tion to a larger investment in the teaching force more effective 
agencies must be developed for selecting, training, and in- 
spiring teachers for their chosen work. In this country per- 
haps, the first of these functions is least effectually performed, 
with the result that much time is wasted upon those whom no 
one can either train or inspire. Selection involves offering 
inducements for those who ought to teach and eliminating 
the rest. Through scholarships the state can well afford to 
encourage preparation of the fit. Examinations rationally 
used and certificates conditioned upon teaching success must 
be more extensively used to eUminate. Schools for the train- 
ing of teachers find it difficult to exclude students who are 
manifestly unfit for what they are preparing to do ; it even 
happens that an institution confers upon a candidate a cer- 
tificate formally stating his fitness for teaching, though not an 
individual member of the faculty would recommend him for 
that work. 

Even though eliminated without a single statement of fit- 
ness for teaching, there are school boards which are willing to 
employ upon appearances or the empty testimonials of general 
character, qualifications written by a layman who does not 
know how to rate teaching ability. It is often an important 
function of normal schools or recommendation and appoint- 
ment committees to keep unsuitable persons from trying to 
teach. The ease with which total teaching failures so often 
secure positions sometimes leads sensitive students of educa- 
tion to wonder whether school boards use as little business 
sense in conducting their own affairs as they seem to manifest 
in employing teachers. 

Qualifications of the teacher, i . Personal, moral, and social 
qualities and improvement. All who teach are expected to 



314 The Work of the Teacher 

possess a good measure of such personal, moral, and social 
qualities as honesty, courage, justice, firmness, persistence, 
kindness, sense of humor, tact, and the blanket term, person- 
ality. But one who expects to grow professionally must give 
more than a conventional meaning to each of these character- 
istics. They must be given a specific content in relation to 
the teacher's situations and problems. Honesty, for example, 
includes the rather negative virtues of paying one's debts and 
reporting daily attendance truthfully, but it includes also 
giving full measure in the status he occupies. Is it honest to 
go before a class without exhausting every effort to gain a 
thorough and enlightening knowledge of [subject matter in 
all its relations? Is it honest to allow discipline to relax 
during the last days of the term? Or, turning to the field of 
intellectual honesty and courage, does refraining from reading 
a book because of fear that it may unsettle one's beliefs in- 
dicate an honest or courageous attitude? 

Many of these general qualities are so thoroughly personal 
— part and parcel of what we are — that, like stature, taking 
thought concerning them can bring no increase. But, allow- 
ing for very small differences in fijced natural endowments, it 
is still possible to profit by recasting simple virtues in relation 
to school situations and using personal resources to the best 
advantage. One who has no great measure of " presence " 
gains very greatly by having the positive manner which rests 
upon the consciousness that all plans are made and ready for 
effective work. A teacher who is surly or unkind could 
probably not be made over into a fit person for the school- 
room, but what are taken for these impossible qualities are 
more often than not mere mannerisms — tones, emphasis, 
gestures — which can with determined effort be modified if 



The Teacher 315 

they seem to be misunderstood. " Personality " itself may 
be enlarged by conscious effort, usually involving the difficult 
first step of constraining oneself to give attention to what 
another appreciates when the line of less resistance dictates, 
" I never cared for that." 

A very long line of life interests to which a person shows 
indifference is not complimentary ; in disclaiming interest in 
fine music, art, literature, or the great things of life the teacher 
is usually proclaiming his own ignorance or restricted views. 
Considered in this light, admission of present indifference 
should become a spur to future achievement. The little 
niceties of polite conduct which are so large a part of life may 
be acquired by all who have the will to profit by association. 
Even tact is usually reducible to elements which can be ac- 
quired by study of our companions. " Why did I seem in- 
adequate for that situation? " " What was it in my lan- 
guage that seemed out of place? " " Just why was so 

much more at ease than I? " 

2. Edticational preparation, a. Thoroughness. Thorough 
academic training is an essential qualification. In preparation 
for the teacher's career, " mastering a subject " frequently 
means more than is necessary for others. It may be sufl&cient 
for the layman to possess a vague, hazy, or mechanical appre- 
ciation of many facts of human interest. Such knowledge 
is of no value to the teacher as professional capital. Merely 
getting correct results in practical problems encountered 
represents satisfactory arithmetical ability for the lawyer, 
clerk, or housewife ; the teacher must understand prin- 
ciples and know well enough to tell clearly how and why 
in all processes rather than the few most used in a single 
vocation. 



3i6 The Work of the Teacher 

b. Specific training in every subject taught. The teacher 
should have specific training in each subject taught. With a 
very large proportion of elementary school teachers, prepara- 
tion in the common school branches is lacking or limited to a 
review of textbooks not more advanced than those used by 
pupils. Drawing and music are sometimes taught by persons 
who have not even had an elementary school course in these 
subjects. Lacking opportunity to make adequate prepara- 
tion in a good school, the teacher who wishes to maintain his 
professional self-respect will soon find a substitute in special 
or private study. 

c. Knowledge should be wider than subject taught. The 
teacher must know his subjects in many relations. An in- 
evitable but unfortunate result of extreme specialization is a 
tendency to neglect correlations. This is especially marked 
in schools conducted upon the departmental plan. How 
proudly and honestly does the young graduate, inspired with 
the supreme value of his " major subject," say, " I don't 
know anything about that ; it is not in my field." And quite 
as often does his specialized teaching reveal its own narrowness 
and absence of meaning. The teacher who remembers that 
he is teaching children rather than subjects is not thus proud 
of his ignorance. Only the one who " knows it all " is more 
objectionable than one who is ignorant of or undervalues the 
work of others. 

d. Ready and exact knowledge. The teacher needs a ready 
and exact knowledge. The most thorough education leaves 
many details untouched when tested in the teaching relation 
with ever varying groups of pupils and environment. The 
supreme confidence of well-trained teachers has been rudely 
shaken by unforeseen difficulties in elementary textbooks which 



The Teacher 317 

are obscure, technical, or employ the tenth mode of expressing 
what the teacher knows in nine other ways. It should also 
be noted that all soon forget important details of what they 
learn and that many never thoroughly understand until they 
teach. Alert teachers of almost every grade learn more during 
their first year of experience than they teach to any of their 
pupils. 

3. Professional training. Professional training is indis- 
pensable for most teachers and advantageous to all. Its 
essential purpose is to give a sympathetic understanding of 
pupils in relation to the work to be accomplished. Psychology 
and child study give a viewpoint which must be supplemented 
by observation thus made intelHgent. Method courses con- 
sider subject matter in relation to the child. These and ped- 
agogical readings in general open the teacher's eyes profes- 
sionally and make it possible to reach a level from which the 
untrained teacher is excluded. But all such studies are im- 
personal ; to function in daily work they must be made specific 
and personal by application to pupils. " The six year old is 
individualistic, lacking in power of sustained attention, and 
without accurate motor control " may be turned to account 
in explaining Johnny's selfishness, restlessness, and awkward- 
ness in writing or drawing. 

Subject matter being thoroughly understood, the teacher 
needs to project professional knowledge upon every coming 
lesson or contemplated plan of management; the attitude 
which impels such thoughtful dramatization of each antici- 
pated situation is one of the major results of professional 
training. Instead, the popular conception has sometimes 
been that of acquiring ready-to-use methods ; the cocksure- 
ness of ignorant teachers with slight professional background 



3i8 The Work of the Teacher 

and their belief in the infallibility of little devices has even 
led sometimes to a doubt of the value of training in methods 
of teaching. Whatever may have been true in earlier days, 
no school for the preparation of teachers now pretends to train 
uneducated persons effectively or to make competent teachers 
out of the ignorant by means of any system of devices. At- 
titudes, principles, ideals, and acquaintance with skillful 
teaching are of far more worth ; equipped with these it is 
usually found that every educational end may be achieved by 
several different methods, no one of which is infallible or in- 
dispensable. 

4. Teaching experience. Experience is so important in 
developing teaching skill that many school boards employ 
only those who have taught successfully. " How am I to 
have experience if they won't let me start? " is the thought 
sometimes expressed by the beginner in search of appointment. 
The answer of the village or town board of education very 
often is " Teach a rural school." The rural school thus be- 
comes the practice institution, the children who attend suf- 
fering by the mistakes of those who are growing into full 
teaching stature. 

Teaching in a normal training school or normal practice 
department is usually not considered in the same light as 
" actual experience." The fleeting nature of the instructor's 
interest in the class, the tendency to encourage procedure 
which is frankly experimental, and often the very small and 
untypical group of pupils taught restricts the value of such 
work as preparation for a teaching position ; but when well 
safeguarded, it has many points of advantage over actual 
teaching without close supervision. Merely teaching does not 
guarantee improvement, and its most noticeable effect is some- 



The Teacher 319 

times to fix bad teaching habits which must later be eradicated. 
Many superintendents object to employing a teacher who has 
worked for a long term of years in a school which is meagerly 
equipped and crowded in its schedule. Under such conditions 
necessity accustoms one to be more or less satisfied with a low 
grade of attainment, and develops skill in doing without teach- 
ing equipment rather than in its use. 

5. Supervisors^ estimates of teachers. For the purpose of 
improving teachers or determining their fitness for advance- 
ment, supervising officers find it indispensable to employ 
scales or standards of efficiency. The intuitively derived ex- 
pressions " that is a good teacher," " good teaching," or " bad 
teaching " lack the precision required to bring about improve- 
ment which must always be in some specific direction. To 
the incompetent these standards supply an effective answer 
to the question " Wherein has my work been unsatisfactory? " 
It is only fair that the teacher should know the standards 
used in judging the work. If a supervisor is unable to give at 
least a brief fist of qualities or specific attainments expected, 
there is reason to doubt the value of the supervision. While 
each uses terms in a peculiar sense and differences of opinion 
will always exist as to relative significance of details, mutual 
appreciation of standards is essential. In the belief that 
teachers will be aided by acquaintance with scales used in 
determining merit, typical scales for judging teachers are in- 
cluded among the exercises at the close of the chapter. 

Proper conservation of teachers' time and energy. A car- 
dinal problem for every teacher is the wise and economical 
distribution of time. No one is in greater need of the stoical 
virtue of equanimity — evenness of mind — and nothing 
more quickly renders this impossible than the panic situation 



320 The Work of the Teacher 

of not knowing what to do next in the presence of several 
demands. The nervousness of many teachers is due to the 
relentless pressure of the pace that kills. In so far as over- 
crowded days are responsible for lack of adjustment and con- 
sequent worry, the following simple suggestions represent ways 
of obviating a situation not escaped without effort. 

1 . Frank recognition of the peculiar demands of the profession. 
First, frankly recognize the peculiar claims of the profession. 
The daily work of instruction and discipline is strenuous in a 
marked degree, and the comparatively short school day must 
be increased to the full working hours of other occupations 
by necessary daily preparation. Though five or six hours 
seldom represent the amount of service performed by the 
conscientious teacher, and work is sometimes so arduous that 
more evenings must be given up than may be required of our 
friends in other pursuits, society seems to have made com- 
pensation by keeping Saturday free from school. To chafe 
because one must occasionally forego social pleasures not 
denied to those who work six days in the week is unreasonable.. 

2. Limitation of social service conditioned by demands of 
school. Tacitly or by specific resolution a limit must be estab- 
lished for participation in community activities. The school 
is first in one's interest ; what shall be gained by neglecting 
it for even the most important social duties ? The only satis- 
factory course is to proceed cautiously in incurring the obliga- 
tions which every community heaps willingly upon those who 
can do. Shall I teach a class in Sunday school? Do choir 
work? Take a leading part in a home-talent play? The 
answer must depend upon the effect which such participation 
in the social life of the community may have upon the specific 
work for which the teacher is paid. 



The Teacher 321 

Little respect is felt for one who slights his own business in 
his zeal for other causes, however worthy. Most teachers 
are not clearly conscious of the nature of the choice they are 
called upon to make ; social duties may not conflict with school 
hours, and daily preparation may be faithfully made, but if 
this is at the expense of needed sleep or recreation, the teacher's 
best standard of work is not maintained. One who is nervous, 
peevish, forgetful, or lacking in vigor and alertness because of 
dissipation of energy in many fields is placing himself in a pro- 
fessionally immoral situation. If, in spite of all precautions, 
the teacher is " drawn into too many things," he should put 
to himself the question of the stoic, " Which would you rather 
give up — yourself or some of your troubles? " Nothing less 
than this is the alternative involved. 

3. System as a conserver of time. Reduce to economical 
system all necessary routine. If alphabetical arrangement 
becomes habitual, precious minutes or hours spent in search- 
ing clippings or other helps may be saved ; if material to be 
carried home is always placed upon the same corner of the 
desk, fewer useless trips will result because of something for- 
gotten. Depending upon memory is a wasteful practice; 
depend upon system. 

The teacher's philosophy of professional relationships. 
Every worker has his philosophy ; all philosophize concerning 
their own professional status and the ethical relationships of 
their occupation. It would be profitable for most teachers to 
think more clearly into a viewpoint which evaluates their 
social service and estimates proper attitudes toward their work 
in all its meanings. If a consistent philosophy of life based 
upon true professional orientation were more generally adopted, 
there would be greater professional sincerity among those who 



322 The Work of the Teacher 

teach and less sentimental patronizing among laymen whose 
attitude indicates commiseration or pity for the teacher, a 
mark of favor which the self-respecting universally resent. 
The following self-formulated viewpoints would probably 
characterize the professional creed, code, or philosophy of most 
teachers if they arrived at a clear statement of their ideals 
with regard to the same phases of the situation. 

1. Why I teach. I teach for the same reasons which lead 
others to enter their professions. I teach for money, because 
I must earn a living ; I beheve my work is rendering a high 
degree of social service and so I have faith in my profession 
just as I hope my neighbors have in their crafts and calUngs ; 
and considering my own circumstances and disposition, I 
prefer teaching to any other vocation I might choose. I am 
not a martyr ; I have elected my career and am giving my life 
to it in the same way that every worthy craftsman gives to his 
chosen labor. I am not professionally more self-sacrificing 
than my neighbors, the lawyer, the editor, the carpenter, and 
the merchant. 

2. Narrowing tendencies of my vocation. My work, like 
that of my neighbors, exposes one to peculiar dangers in de- 
veloping attitudes and reactions characteristic of daily activ- 
ities. The minister thinks of souls and how to uplift; the 
physician considers all as possible cases ; the clerk is reckoning 
sales. I cannot talk long with aijy of these until I discover 
that his subjects of conversation, even his figures of speech, 
are chosen from his trade or vocation. These talk and act 
a great deal of " shop." My own profession might lead me to 
be dogmatic since I spend so much time trying to enlighten 
those who have little ability or desire to contradict ; it might 
lead me to pedantic instruction of companions when they do 



The Teacher 323 

not care to be taught ; it might cause me to dwell too much 
upon little flaws and inaccuracies of language and make me 
over-ready in offering corrections and volunteering informa- 
tion. In spite of myself I am more and more influenced by 
my work, but knowing the dangers which tend to twist my 
personality, I seek counteractive measures. I choose some of 
my associates among those who know fields in which I am but 
a child and my opinion of little worth ; most of the books I 
read do not mention the schoolroom, and the daily newspaper 
and good magazines receive more of my time than educational 
periodicals ; such avocations as I pursue for pleasure or profit 
detract nothing from my vocational efl&ciency. I do not 
object to being known as a teacher, but cultivation of interests 
outside of my work makes teaching more fully worth while. 

3. Small initial professional margin increased by capitalizing 
experience. I recognize that however well trained I was when 
I began to teach, my professional equipment constituted a 
very small margin over and above what may be expected of 
" all intelligent people." I increase my professional value by 
a critical attitude of self-examination which adopts the tough- 
minded plan of thrusting aside excuses in the insistent ques- 
tion, " Was that piece of work a success or a failure? " and of 
assuming that I am guilty of every failure until I can roundly 
prove myself innocent. Perhaps the children are slow and 
inattentive and the parents indifferent ; very well, these rather 
than ideal children and parents are my problem. My service 
is not measured by what I might do if I had a chance, but by 
what I am accomplishing now and here. 

Critical attention to the present strength and weakness of 
my work renders me able to capitalize experience by repeating 
what has seemed effective and avoiding what proves wrong. 



324 The Work of the Teacher 

If I did not thus realize upon my investment of time to increase 
my technical margin, experience would render me merely an 
older, not a more capable, teacher. Through professional 
literature, exhibits, teachers' meetings, and visits to other 
schools, I am able to compare my work with what others are 
doing, thus greatly sharpening the critical insight with which 
I study my own methods. 

4. Professional rating most highly prized. I rate myself 
professionally according to the opinion of skilled professional 
judges. I value the esteem of the community in which I 
work; for, without this, my best service cannot be rendered 
— it is part of my problem to please the people, I prize the 
good opinion of my pupils, for a school which justifies itself 
cannot exist if children are hostile or indifferent. But chil- 
dren are not technically critical, and the community is not 
very exacting in its strictly professional demands. By these 
the easy commendation " a fine teacher " is often bestowed 
upon those of unusual social qualities, with little regard to 
their teaching power. The expert supervisor applies more 
exacting technical standards, measuring results in the de- 
velopment of pupils. Such rating only is of professional sig- 
nificance. 

5. Professional code requires etiquette of secrecy. My code 
of professional ethics requires me to keep to myself many in- 
teresting bits of information which are mine because of my 
professional status. No one needs to tell me how a family 
lives at home if the children are in my school, but I am not 
within my professional rights if I communicate gossipingly 
unfavorable information thus secured. Neither have I the 
right to discuss in public and unofficially many facts concern- 
ing the inner conduct of the school or system. The teacher 



The Teacher 325 

in the adjoining room may have done wretched work, the one 
who will have my room next year may give no promise of 
success, the supervisor may be a doctrinaire or a thankless 
pedant, the superintendent may excel only in shifting re- 
sponsibility — yet none of these are legitimate subjects of 
general conversation. All are professional matters to be 
treated professionally, communicated — if at all — to school 
officers and usually upon requests for information. It is 
almost always possible to secure needed changes by appealing 
to those who are officially and professionally next. 

6. Professional interest in pupils becomes personal. I have 
a professional interest in the children I teach. In spite of 
sentimental discussions of ideal teachers, it never seems to me 
that I should be required to love them, for so many are quite 
unlovable — the untidy, the deceitful, the rude, the stupid, and 
all others furnished by subnormal or superindulgent homes. 
To love that nondescript group on the first day of school is 
clearly impossible, though it may be analyzed and classified. 
But in studying their needs as part of my work they soon 
occupy a warm place in my heart, suggesting more than a 
scientific interest; the close of the year finds my working 
knowledge colored by all manner of personal associations with 
the boys and girls in whom I shall always have a personal 
interest. 

Professional outlook. The work of teaching in this coun- 
try has not arrived at full professional status because of the 
presence of so large a per cent who make teaching a means 
while preparing for other pursuits. Unkind remarks in pro- 
fusion have been addressed to those who are accused of giving 
grudgingly a portion of time for which they are paid while 
looking forward to a better remunerated or more congenial 



326 The Work of the Teacher 

career in another field. It seems probable, however, that the 
major part of our army of " stepping-stone " teachers has 
honestly endeavored to meet obligations fully; many have 
left teaching with regret ; and any one who is f amihar with 
teaching conditions in a country where " once a teacher always 
a teacher " is the rule can bear witness by comparison to the 
boundless enthusiasm the shifting procession of young teachers 
communicates to our schools — a vigor and optimism not 
always found where teachers grow old in the service. 

At present and for many years to come our schools would 
suffer immeasurably by reading out of the profession all who 
do not plan to make teaching a life work. But the loss due 
to the fact that so large a per cent of those who teach have had 
Httle experience is conceded to be very great ; increased de- 
mands for specific preparation are gradually raising teaching 
to a professional plane ; fuller compensation is accompanying 
the change. The future of our profession is to be better than 
its past ; no one believes that world democracy can solve its 
problems without large use of its professional teachers. De- 
mocracy is safe for the world where the teacher's work has 
been well done. 



The Teacher 327 

Exercises 

1. Make a list of qualities proposed as essential for the ideal 
teacher. How many seem contradictory or impossible of realiza- 
tion? From the list select those in which you are strong; those 
in which you are deficient. 

Per Cent 

2. (i) Ability to discipline as shown by 30 

(2) Ability to instruct as shown by 30 

(3) Ability in administrative and clerical duties 

as shown by 15 

(4) Interest in pupils as shown by 15 

(5) Loyalty to school as shown by 10 

Total score . 100 

Complete the scale by showing the content of each of the five 
headings. Score the work of two or three teachers with whom you 
are acquainted. 

Pee Cent 

3. The teacher as an individual 

Efl&ciency of the teacher as shown by ^^ 

{a) Care of schoolroom 

{h) Instructional skill 

(c) Achievement of pupils 

{d) Knowledge of subjects taught .... 

Total . . . 100 

As in the preceding, complete this scale and then weight each of 
the five considerations with a number of points, the total being 100. 

4. Adopting so far as possible an objective attitude, and writing 
as if concerning another person, write a complete analysis of your 
own strong and weak characteristics as a teacher. 

5. In an extensive study of the characteristics of their teachers 
most valued by high school boys, fairness, kindness, disciplinary 
control, patience, humor, good temper, social ability, knowledge of 



328 The Work of the Teacher 

subjects, clearness of explanation, and neatness were named in 
order. (Study by Miss Bird, Journal of Educational Psychology, 
January, 1917.) Make similar lists as you would expect desirable 
qualities to be named by patrons, school officers, and other 
teachers. 

6. It has often been said that teachers are creatures of tradi- 
tion. One writer states that their conservatism is due to the fact 
that they spend so much time with such unchanging material as 
"6 times 7 =42," "Longfellow was born in 1807," and "The Arctic 
Circle is 23^ degrees from the pole." Lamb says of the teacher, 
"He comes like Gulliver from among his little people, and he cannot 
fit the stature of his understanding to yours. He is so used to 
teaching that he wants to be teaching you." Another peculiarity 
of the teaching situation, found almost nowhere else outside of 
prisons, is that children must listen to what the teacher says 
whether or not it is interesting and worth while. What evidence 
may be adduced to show that these peculiar conditions of the teach- 
er's work leave their impress upon the manners of experienced 
teachers ? 

7. A superintendent said half-seriously that he had no objec- 
tion to the study of pedagogy by his younger teachers so long as 
they did not take it seriously, and he felt certain that none of his 
older teachers would pay any attention to books on education. 
Give examples of mistakes made by teachers because they had 
studied education. Were such errors due to (a) wrong doc- 
trines, (6) exaggerated views of the importance of some useful 
device, (c) a new theory not understood, or to some other cause? 
What evidence may be given to show that the superintendent was 
right or wrong in his st3,tement concerning the indifference of older 
teachers to educational literature? 

8. Experienced teachers very generally dislike teachers' meet- 
ings, because much of what is said is for the benefit of those who are 
just beginning to teach. The same teachers also complain that 



The Teacher 329 

reading circle books are a bore since they repeat each other's con- 
tent. What would you suggest as a means of professional improve- 
ment for such teachers while in service? 

9. Select an educational periodical worth while to you because 
of its device and method suggestions, one which contains general 
discussions of larger phases of education and one of local value. 

10. What specific value have you derived from professional 
training or the reading of a book for teachers? Has this been 
principally a change of attitude, more complete understanding of 
education, or modification of classroom procedure ? 

11. "It is unprofessional to apply for a teaching position if 
the applicant's training is inadequate, to apply for a position which 
has not been declared vacant, or in securing a position to make use 
of relatives or to accept the assistance of agents or of others in- 
terested in the sale of books or supplies, thereby giving rise to 
suspicion of obligation. It is also unprofessional for a teacher to 
resign from a position in order to secure a better one unless the new 
position represents decided advancement and the resignation is 
announced early enough to safeguard the community concerned." 
This is the essential content of a resolution of a state teachers' 
association. If you are acquainted with instances which are in 
violation of the spirit of this code, how did they affect public opin- 
ion in relation to the teaching profession? 

12. Should a teacher or a superintendent write a testimonial for 
a subscription book which he has accepted as a gift ? Under what 
circumstances should teachers ask book companies for free sample 
textbooks ? 

13. Upon the " etiquette of visitation " the following suggestions 
have been offered for the visitor : 

(a) Enter and leave the room quietly. 
(Jb) Ask no questions during recitation. 

(c) Remain at least a full recitation or class period; flitting 
visitors see little and are not welcome. 



$2)^ The Work of the Teacher 

(d) Do not copy work or write comments unless you are sure it 
will not embarrass the teacher. 

(e) Report only good points in the teacher's work. Make a 
similar list of suggestions for the teacher whose room is being 
visited. 

14. Account for such expressions as these which are very fre- 
quently uttered by school board members : "Any teacher can get 
written recommendations." "We never read testimonials carried 
by applicants." Many school men wisely refuse to give written 
indorsements to teachers. With these facts in mind how would 
you proceed to furnish information concerning your own teaching 
ability if you were applying for a position in a community where 
you were not known? Write a formal application for a teaching 
position. 

Readings 

Bagley : Classroom Management, XVI, XVIII. 

Bagley : School Discipline, 23-50. 

Elliott: City School Supervision, IX (Standards of teaching effi- 
ciency). 

Hoag and Terman : Health Work in the Schools, XVII (Teacher's 
health). 

Hyde : The Teacher^ s Philosophy, 37-83. 

Palmer : The Ideal Teacher. 



Bibliography 

Adams, John : Exposition and Illustration in Teaching. Macmillan, 

1910. 
Bagley, W. C. : Classroom Management. Macmillan, 1910. 
Bagley, W. C. : Educative Process. Macmillan, 1905. 
Bagley, W. C. : School Discipline. Macmillan, 191 5. 



The Teacher 331 

Ballou, F. W. : Improving Instruction through Educational Measure- 
ment. Reportof National Education Association, 1916. 196- 
203. 

Bennett, H. E. : School Efficiency. Ginn, 1917. 

Betts, G. H. : The Recitation. Houghton MifHin, 1911. 

Brown, J. C., and Coffman, L. D. : How to Teach Arithmetic. Row, 
Peterson, 1914. 

Burrage, S., and Bailey, H. T. : School Sanitation and Decoration. 
D. C. Heath, 1899. 

Butler, N. M. : The Meaning of Education. Macmillan, 1909. 

Chapman, I., and Rush, Grace : Scientific Measurement oj Class- 
room Products. Silver, Burdett, 191 7. 

Charters, W. W. : Methods of Teaching. Row, Peterson, 1912. 

Colgrove, C. P. : The Teacher and the School. Scribner, 1910. 

Colvin, S. S. : Introduction to High School Teaching. Macmillan, 
1918. 

Colvin, S. S., and Bagley, W. C. : Human Behavior. Macmillan, 

1913- 
Dresslar, F. B. : School Hygiene. Macmillan, 1915. 
Earhart, L, B. : Teaching Children to Study. Houghton Miflflin, 

1909. 
Eliot, C. W. : The Concrete and Practical in Modern Education. 

Houghton Mifflin. 
Elliott, E. C. : City School Supervision. World Book Company, 

1914. 
Fiske, John : The Meaning of Infancy. Houghton Mifflin, 1909. 
Hall-Quest, A. : Supervised Study. Macmillan, 1916. 
Hoag, E. B., and Terman, L. M. : Health Work in the Schools. 

Houghton Mifflin, 1914. 
Home, H. H. : Story-Telling, Questioning and Studying. Mac- 
millan, 1916. 
Hyde, W. D. : The Teacher^ s Practical Philosophy. Houghton 

Mifflin, 1910. 



332 The Work of the Teacher 

Johnson, G. E. : Education by Plays and Games. Ginn, 1907. 
Judd, C. H. : Measuring the Work of the Public Schools. Survey 

Committee of Cleveland, Ohio, 1916. 
Keith, J. A. H. : Elementary Education. Scott-Foresman, 1905. 
Kirkpatrick, E, A. : Fundamentals oj Child Study. Macmillan, 

1914. 
McMurry, F. M. : How to Study and Teaching How to Study. 

Houghton Mifflin, 1909. 
Morehouse, F. : The Discipline of the School. Heath, 1914. 
Palmer, G. H. : The Ideal Teacher. Houghton Mifflin, 1908. 
Perry, A. C. : Discipline as a School Problem. Houghton Mifflin, 

1915- 

Ruediger, W. C. : The Principles of Education. Houghton Mif- 
flin, 1910. 

Scott, C. A. : Social Education. Ginn, 1908. 

Snedden, David, and Allen, W. H. : School Reports and School Effi- 
ciency. Macmillan, 1908. 

Spencer, Herbert : Education. Appleton, 1906. 

Stevens, Romiett : The Question as a Measure of Efficiency in In- 
struction. Teachers College, Columbia University, 1912.. 

Strayer, G. D. : The Teaching Process. Macmillan, 191 1. 

Strayer, G. D., and Norsworthy, Naomi: How to Teach. Mac- 
millan, 191 7. 

Terman, L. M. : The Hygiene of the School Child. Houghton 
Mifflin, 1914. 

Thorndike, E, L. : Education. Macmillan, 191 2. 

Thorndike, E. L. : Mental and Social Measurements. Teachers 
College, Columbia University, 1916. 

Other books referred to or quoted are named when cited. 



INDEX 



Absolute marking, 263. 
Accelerated pupils, 306. 
Accuracy : 

among pupils leaving school to work, 52. 

in teachers' records and reports, 286. 
Acquired characteristics and heredity, 38. 
Activity in children, 18, 109. 
Adams, John, quoted, 193. 
Adenoid growths, 94. 
Adjustable school furniture, 66. 
Administration of education, i, 51, 299. 
Age: 

determines limits of education, 7. 

differences, 28. 

in relation to sense differences, 162, 306. 
Age-grade table, 306. 
Aims: 

determined by nature of work, 155. 

of the recitation, 154. 

pupil's and teacher's, 155. 
Aims of education, i-ii. 

general, 21. 

proximate, i. 

ultimate, i, 9. 
Alphabetical arrangement, economy of, 
286. 

in use of dictionary, 76. 
Alternating questions, 188. 
Alternation of subjects, 85. 
Amoimt of work assigned, 147. 
Andersen's fable illustrating abilities, 121. 
Answers of pupils, 185, 192. 
Apperception, 19. 

as the cause of mistakes of children, 19, 
240. 

in the recitation, 59. 
Appreciation, 6, 80, 257. 

in learning, 181. 

lessons, 181. 
Approval as an incentive, 121. 
Arbor Day, 64. 



Assignment, 139-153. 
exercises on, 151-153. 
for disciplinary purposes, 235. 
for home study, 235. 
of excursion lessons, 142. 
of individual work, 151. 
precede or follow lesson, 149. 
proper length, 147. 
proper quaUty, 148. 
purposes, 141. 
time required, 150. 
waste in, 233. 
Attendance, 279-285. 
compulsory, 283. 
irregular, 31. 

parental responsibility for, 278. 
punctuality influenced by opening exer- 
cises, 284. 
pupils' responsibility for, 281. 
Attention : 

in drill exercises, 177-178. 
in the recitation, 154, 161. 
types of, 25. 
Attitudes : 

as the result of education, 6, 10, 15, 

257- 
pupils', 148, 158. 

in the recitation, 159. 
in study, 227. 
teachers', toward pupils, 12, 15, 16, 24, 
31, 35, 106, 113, 125. 

impersonal, 126, 144, 158. 
in the recitation, 191. 
vindictive, 170. 
Automatic elements in education, 104, 176, 

258. 
Awkward postures of pupils, 67, 95. 

Bagley, W. C, 10, 55, 103. 
on disciplinary types, 30. 
on the teacher's voice, 134. 



333 



334 



Index 



Balfour quoted, 56. 
Batavia system, 86. 
Beginning teachers, 2, 12, 90, 106, 125, 

139. 235- 
Biological factors in education, 38. 
Blackboard : 

economy in the use of, 73, 83, 169, 171, 

239, 245- 

Board of education in relation to curricu- 
lum changes, 51. 

Boys and girls, differences between, 29, 

71- 
Bright pupils, 32, 33. 
Business man's criticism of the school, 51. 

Cheating in examinations, 267. 
Checking results by pupils, 146. 
Child: 

in literature, 17. 

study of, 12, 157, 317. 
Children : 

personal experience of, 18. 

questions of, 14. 
Chronological age, 28. 
Cigarette smoking, 109. 
Class period : 

in relation to fatigue, 85. 

lengthened by combining classes, 86. 

should face forward, 140. 
Classrooms : 

care of, 95. 

discipline in, 129. 

shape and size, 65. 
Clean-up day, 64. 
Clearness in assignment, 141. 
Cold schoolrooms, 70. 

in relation to tardiness, 284. 
Collecting instinct, 20. 
Columbus, study questions upon, 247. 
Colvin, S. S., quoted, 133, 134. 
Comenius, quoted, 126, 193. 
Common characteristics of pupils, 17, 145. 
Communicable diseases, 67, 95. 
Community : 

influence, 63, 130. 

responsibihty for school site, 62. 
Comparing schools of to-day with those of 

the past, 52. 
Competitive groups, 122, 135, 145. 

in drill exercises, 178. 



Complete living aim, 3. 
Compulsory attendance, 283. 

effect of laws, 294. 
Concentration in study, 225, 232. 
Concrete : 

in education, 27, 41, 144. 

sometimes an obstacle to learning, 241. 
Consecutive questioning, 190. 
Conservatism of teachers, 328. 
Conservatives in education, 40, 41, 44, 53. 
Consolidated schools, 63. 
Content and form subjects, 55. 
Contests, 122, 135. 
Continuous series, explained, 302. 
Conventional behavior in schoolroom, 103, 
Corporal punishment, 130. 
Correcting written work, 120, 260, 278. 
Corrective measures, 125-132. See Pen- 
alties. 
Correlations in study useless at times, 240. 
County superintendent as adviser of 

teachers, 79. 
Course of study : 

adopted by as well as for teachers, 53. 

constructive criticism by teachers, 54. 

supplementing, 53. 
Crayon dust prevented, 73. 
Criticism : 

by business men, 51. 

of curriculum, 50, 58. 

of school, 17, 107. 

of self by teachers, 323. 

of textbooks, 243. 
Cultural and vocational, 9, 45, 46. 
Culture defined, 7. 
Curriculum : 

arguments concerning, 44-46. 

changes in, 38-40, 42. 

content of, 38, 41. 

criticism of, 37, 44, 45- 

eUminations from, 43. 

enrichment of, 42, 44, 45. 

local material in, 49-50. 

overcrowded, 44. 

teacher is the, 309. 

Daily preparation of lessons, 116, 156. 
psychologizes lesson material, 163, 170, 

172. 
reduces number of questions, 192. 



Index 



335 



Daily preparation of lessons (Continued) 

necessary in order to know plan of text- 
books, 244. 
Decoration of schoolrooms, 79. 
Deductive lessons, 167. 
Defects : 

in hearing, 2q. 

in preparation revealed by examinations, 
267. 

in time sense cause of tardiness, 285. 

in vision, 29. 
Delayed instincts, 20. 
Democracy conscious of educational aims, 

2, 9. 
Democratic public school, 41, 43, 124, 156. 
"Demons of English Spelling," 271. 
Developing questions, 185. 
Development : 

aim of, 165. 

steps of, 164. 
Development lessons, 163. 
Devices of management and method, 45, 

318. 
Dewey, John, quoted, 55. 

school desk illustration, 109. 
Diagnosis : 

of seating difficulties, 67. 

of studying pupil's difficulties, 247. 
Diagrams : 

in teaching, 73, 201. 

of sentences, 202. 
Dictionary, 75. 

economy in purchasing, 76. 

learning the use of, 75, 146. 
Differences among children. See Individ- 
ual differences. 
Diffusion in learning, 21. 
Direct questions, 187. 
Direct training, 47. 
Dirigible interests, 22. 
Disciplinary types, 30. 
DiscipUne : 

impersonal attitude in, 125. 

informal, 112. 

in relation to daily program, 83. 

in the recitation, 133. 

problems, 107. 

relaxing, 114. 
Discrete series explained, 301. 
Disinfection, 95. 



Display work, 119. 
Distractions to be avoided, 62, 225. 
Distribution of marks, 297. 
Drawing in illustration, 73, 198. 
Drill lessons, 140, 174-181. 
Drill subjects: 

arrangement in daily program, 83. 

more emphasis upon, 52, 174. 
Drinking water and cups, 95. 
Dust in schoolroom, 96. 
Dustless crayon, 73. 
Dutton, S. T., quoted, 35. 

Earhart, Lida, quoted, 249. 
Economy : 

in learning, 230, 231. 

in study, 242. 

in use of textbooks, 243. 

of alphabetical arrangement, 286. 
Educating parents, 280. 
Education : 

as means of developing social efficiency, 

7- 

as means of transmitting inheritance, 5, 
38, 256. 

as naturalization, 6. 

considered as means of developing in- 
terests, 6. 
Education for citizenship, 104, 105, 123. 
Educational statistics, 293-307. 
Effort, recognized, 121. 
Elimination : 

from course of study, 42. 

of pupils from school, 48, 131, 138. 

of wastes from study, 239. 
EUot, Charles, quoted, 132. 
Elliptical questions, 188. 
Encyclopedias as part of library, 77. 

use of, 146. 
Enriching the curriculum, 42. 
Enthusiasm of teacher in appreciation les- 
sons, 181. 
Erasers, keeping in condition, 73. 
Esthetic environment, 63, 79. 
Estimates of pupils, 259. 

steadied by standard tests, 269. 
Etiquette of secrecy, 324. 
Exaggeration among small children, 21. 
Examinations : 

dishonesty in, 267. 



336 



Index 



Examinations (Continued) 

disliked by pupils, 266. 

excusing pupils from, 118. 

reveal defective preparation and mis- 
placed emphasis, 267. 
Excursions and field trips, 142. 
Excuses for absence, 279, 282. 
Exhibition of pupils' work, 119. 
Expecting too little : 

in relation to standard tests, 269. 

of an entire class, 259. 

of pupils, 148, 160. 
Expecting too much of pupils, 148, 158. 
Experience of children is limited, 18. 
Experienced teachers, 318, 323. 

become fixed in their expectations of 
pupils' attainment, 160. 
Expulsion of pupils, 130, 138. 
External conditions in recitation, 160. 

in study period, 225, 232. 
External factors of the school situation, 

60-101. 
Eye defects, discovery of, 93. 

in study, 240. 
Eyes, responsibiUty for care of pupils', 66, 
92. 

Fact questions, 184. 
Failure of promotion, 119. 
Fatigue : 

confused with lack of interest, 84. 

length of class period in relation to, 85. 
Field-trips, 142. 
Finger reckoning, 242. 
Fire drill, 176. 
First day of school, 112. 
Fixed elements of school environment, 61- 

72. 
Fixed standards, danger of, 160. 
Focalization in drill exercises, 177. 
Forgetting, laws of, 49. 
Form and content subjects, 55. 
Fresh air in schoolroom, amount required, 
69. 

General aims of education, 1-9. 
General and specific training, 47, 179. 
Generalizations as aims, 165. 
General or opening exercises, 87-90. 
Girls and boys, differences between, 29, 71. 



Governing the schoolroom, 102-132. 
Grades or marks, 260-265. 

abuse of, 120. 

as incentives, 119. 

distribution of, 262-265, 297. 

purpose of, 103. 

reporting to parents, 287, 290. 

steadied by use of standard tests, 269. 
Grade teacher transferred to high school 

position, 160. 
Graphs, 199. 

Group incentives, 116, 122. 
Grouping of letters, wrong, in reading, 240. 

Habit : 

as result of education, 176, 257. 

formation in drill exercises, 174. 

schoolroom, 103. 
Harmonious development, 3. 
Hearing defects among pupils, 93. 
Heating the schoolroom, 71, 284. 
Hectograph, 245. 

Henderson, C. H., quoted, 208, 209. 
Herbartian aim, 3. 

lesson plan, 163. 
Heredity in relation to education, 38. 
Home: 

environment, 15, 157. 

influence upon pupils' attitudes, 22. 

influence upon school government, 106. 

in relation to attendance, 129, 280, 281. 

reports from school to, 94, 287-290. 

reports to school upon home work, 289. 

study, 235-237. 
Honor system abused, 108. 
Humidity of schoolroom air, 71. 

in relation to fuel economy, 72. 
Hygienic measures, 91. 

Idea thinkers, and thing thinkers, 27, no. 
Ideals : 

as incentives, 117. 

as results of education, 256. 

of proper school environment, 60. 
Idleness of pupils, 109. 
Illustration : 

in the recitation, 159. 

personal, 197. 
Illustrative material, 193-205. 

drawing in illustration, 73. 



Index 



337 



Imagery : 

in study, 240. 

types of mental, 27. 
Impersonal attitude in discipline, 125. 
Improvement in school plant, 63, 64. 
Incentives, 50, 1 16. 

exhibition of pupils' work, 119. 

for study, 225. 

ideals as, 117. 

marks and promotion, 119, 265. 

must be attainable, 117. 

privileges and exemptions, 118. 

prizes as, 118. 
Incidental means of study, 238. 

opportunities to develop appreciation, 
182. 
Indiana school law quoted, 98. 
Individual : 

assignments, 151. 

blackboard work, 73. 
Individual differences, 18, 24-32, 46, 158, 
229, 306. 

in amount of ability, 30, 121. 

in relation to schoolroom temperature, 7 1 . 
Individual needs provided for, 30-32, 86. 

in answering questions, 190. 

in memorizing, 230. 

in recitation, 173. 

in rural schools, 87. 

in use of illustration, 194. 
Individualism, 105. 
Inductive development, 163. 
Indulgent homes, 17. 
Informal education, 38, 57. 
Initiative in pupils, 175, 195. 
Instinctive tendencies, 32, 39. 

delayed, 20. 

discipline influenced by, 105, 137. 

in study, 238. 

transitory, 20. 

used in instruction, 144. 
Instruction, 139, 170. 

question and answer in, 170. 

telling method, 172. 

topical method in, 171. 
Instructional ability in teachers, 102. 
Interest : 

as motive for attendance, 284. 

in relation to memorizing, 229. 

of teacher in pupils, 325. 



Interests of pupils, 6, 14, 22, 24, 108. 
Intermissions and ventilation, 70. 
Introspection : 

in study of pupils, 13, 157. 

in relation to government, iii. 
Intrusions upon recitation, 161. 
Inverting the divisor, 226. 

Janitors, 96. 

Jastrow, illustration from, 21- , 

Keeping after school, 129. 
Knowledge : 

as a result of education, 258. 

ready and exact for teachers, 316. 

Laboratory civics, 124. 
Lapse in morale, 105. 
Laws of forgetting, 230. 
Leading questions, 187. 
Learning is individual, 24, 154. 
Lecture method, 172. 
Length of class period, 150, 178. 
Lesson : 

division of, 140, 150. 

preparation of, 116, 156. 

written, 173. 
Lesson plans : 

outline of, 166, 168. 

type plan in arithmetic, 217-221. 
Letters used in grading, 261. 
Library, the school, 77. 
Life, quoted, 58. 
Lighting of schoolrooms, 65, 66. 
Linear graphs, 200. 
Logical and psychological order, 162. 
Loitering as cause of tardiness, 285. 
Long infancy, signiflcance of, in educa- 
tion, 39. 

McMurry, on study, 227. 

Machine-like school organization, iii. 

Macvannell, quoted, 5. 

Magic square as typt of incidental study, 

238. 
Managerial type of attention, 25. 
Maps: 

blackboard outline, 75. 

contemporary, 75. 

function of, 74, 203. 



338 



Index 



Marking systems, 261. 

Marks. See Grades. 

Material fixtures of school plant, 60. 

Measuring results in education, 232, 255- 

278. 
Measuring teachers, 319. 
Median : 

advantages of, 298. 

directions for computing, 300, 303. 
Memorizing : 

an important element in study, 227. 

related to interest, 229. 

suggestions for, 226. 
Mental training, 44, 45. 
Method discussions, 45. 
Military ideal, 105, 112. 
Mill's definition of education, 9. 
Milton's definition of education, 9. 
Minus distance in seating, 67. 
Misplaced emphasis revealed, by examina- 
tion, 267. 

by standard tests, 269. 
Mistakes in conducting recitations, 207. 
Mnemonic devices, 230. 
Mode, meaning in statistical studies, 297. 
Moore, E. C, quoted, 155. 
Moral character aim, 3. 
Moral environment of school, 63, 115. 
Moral values: 

confused, 108, 120, 132. 

in school procedures, 108, 149, 209, 257. 
Morale in school, 102, 145. 

relaxing, 114. 
Motivation of school work, 49, 117, 118, 
143- 

in study period, 223. 
Motor subjects in relation to discipline, 

109, no. 
Movable school furniture, 68. 
Multiplication table, 147, 228. 

Narrovsdng tendencies of vocation, 48, 322. 

Narrowness of childhood experience, 18. 

Natural education, 105. 

Natural punishment, 127. 

Necessity of regular attendance, 279. 

Negative incentives, 116. 

Negative response to suggestion, 26. 

negative suggestion, 25. 
Nervous children, 17, 29, 152. 



"New education," 40, 59. 

New subjects in curriculvun, 44, 45. 

Normal age, 306. 

Normal distribution, 295. 

Normal school experience, 318. 

Notebooks, use of, 233. 

Note taking, 244. 

Obedience, 104, 107, 124. 

Objections to examinations, 266. 

Objective attitude in discipline, 125. 

Objective tests, 269. 

Obligation of school situation as motive, 

114. 
Obscurity of assignment, 142. 
Ohio School Law, quoted, 98. 
Opening exercises, 87, 113. 

suggested plans for, 90. 
Organization of school, 109, in. 

mischief-inspiring, 108. 
Organization of subject matter, 229. 
Original retentive power, 228. 
Overleaming : 

in relation to standard tests, 269. 

waste of, 48, 232. 

"Parent's Plea, A," 58. 
Parents : 

and home environment, 15, 129. 

beheve their children are unusual, 107. 

complaints about home assignments, 

ass- 
defects of pupils reported to, 94, 95. 

estimates of pupils' home projects, 289. 

reports to, 131, 138, 287. 
Part versus whole method in memorizing, 

226. 
Peculiar demands of teaching profession, 

320. 
Penalties, 125-132. 

corporal pimishment, 130. 

keeping after school, 129. 

purpose is preventive, 126, 

reproof, 126. 

sending to principal, 129. 

suspension and expulsion, 130. 

withdrawal of privilege, 129. 
Perry, A. C, quoted, 136. 
Persistence as an element of control, 114. 



Index 



339 



Personality : 

in discipline, no, 114. 

improvement of, 314. 
Philosophy of the teacher, 321. 
Physical differences among pupils, 29. 
Pictures : 

used in illustration, 197. 

used to decorate schoolrooms, 80. 
Pivotal questions, 167. 
Plan in study, 242. 
Plato's definition of education, 3. 
Play in study, 48, 238. 
Playgrounds, 62, 135. 
Plus and minus distance in seating, 67. 
Popular criticism : 

of the curriculum, 50, 58. 

of the school, 17, 107. 

related to school discipline, 107. 
Positive incentives, 116. 
Positive response to suggestion, 26. 
Posture of pupils, 94. 
Practical education, 47, 56. 
Practice in drill lessons, 170-179. 
Practice teaching, 318. 
Praise as an incentive, 121. 
Precocious children, 23. 
Preparation : 

for appreciation lessons, 182. 

of lessons. See Daily preparation. 

of the teacher, 73, 113, 139, 140, 313, 
317. 
Present use theory, 48, 55. 

in the study period, 224. 
Preventive punishment, 126. 
Principal, sending pupils to, 129. 
Privileges and exemptions in relation to 

discipline, 118. 
Prizes, 118. 

Probability curve, 295. 
Problem : 

arguments for problem curriculum, 49, 
50. 

curriculum, 48, 144. 

mode of attack, 144. 

motive in study hour, 223, 224, 243. 
Professional : 

code of ethics, 324. 

margin of teacher, 323. 

outlook, 325. 

rating most prized, 324. 



Program : 

the daily, 81-91. 

alternation in, 85. 

combining classes, 86. 

in relation to discipline, 115. 

in relation to fatigue, 83. 
Progressives in education, 44, 45. 
Promiscuous questioning, 190. 
Promotion : 

as an incentive, 119. 

of pupils, 272. 
Proximate aims in education, i, 9. 
Psychology, of childhood, 12, 17. 
Psychological age, 28. 
Psychological order, 162, 163. 
Public interest in education, 50, 61, 311. 
Punctuality : 

overrated, 285. 

stimulated by interesting exercises, 88, 
285. 
Punishments, 125-132. See Penalties. 
Pupils : 

advised to leave school, 131, 138. 

aim of, in recitation, 155. 

attitude toward teachers, 126. 

common characteristics of, 17, 145. 

differences among, 18, 24-32, 46, 158, 
229, 306. 

necessity for studying, 12, 13, 157, 317. 

self-government for, 123. 

suggestions for study of, 13, 157. 
Purchase of teaching equipment : 

by school officers, 74, 77. 

by teachers, 78. 

Qualifications of teachers, 73, 115, 139, 

140, 313, 317- 
Quartile and quintile measurements, 297. 
Question and answer instruction, 170. 
Questioning : 

as means of testing, 169. 

as teacliing instrument, 170, 183. 

devices of, 169. 

illustrations of, 212-215. 

suggestions upon, 189-193. 
Questions, distribution of, 190. 

for study period, 245. 

number of, 185. 

number should be reduced, 192. 

of children, 14, 146. 



340 



Index 



Questions {Continued) 

varieties of, 184-189. 
Quizzing versus teaching, 150. 

Radical views in education, 37, 40, 45, 47. 
Rate in penmanship, 271. 
Recitation, 154-221. 

aims, 154. 

essential conditions for, 156. 

freedom from intrusion, 161. 

mistakes in, 207. 

suggestions for observation of, 216. 

wrong conception of, 140, 154, 156. 
"Recitation bench," i6r. 
Recommendation of teachers, 330. 
Recommending teachers' helps, 77, 99. 
Records, accuracy and economy in, 285. 
References must be definite, 142. 
Relative marking, 263. 
Repetition : 

in drill, 178-180. 

in stories, 20. 
Report cards, 289. 
Reports, to parents, 287-290, 292. 
Repression in education, 21. 
Reproof as a form of control, 128. 
Responsibihty of teachers, 62, 66, 68, 78, 

91-96. 
Results of education, 5, 104, 117, 176, 256- 

258. 
Results, measured in fundamental subjects, 

51, 52, 176, 268, 271. 
Retarded pupils, 28, 306. 
Rivalry, 145. See also Competitive 

groups. 
Roll call, 286. 
Room achievement more important than 

individual, 271. 
Rousseau, 12. 
Routine, organized, iii. 
Rural school : 

attendance in, 280. 

course of study for, 54. 

daily program in, 81. 

first day of, 134. 

provision for individual pupils in, 86. 

supervised study in, 237. 

training and tenure of teachers, 64, 311, 
318. 

waste in recitation, 161. 



Samples of pupil's work sent home, 2S8. 
Sanitation of schoolrooms, 95. 
Scales and tests, 268. 

for measuring teachers, 319, 326. 

for observation, 216. 
Scholarship, of teacher, 115, 206, 315. 
School activities an index of interest, 14. 
School : 

gardens, 62. 

journals, 78, 87, 97, 323, 329. 

library, 77. 

movable furniture in, 68. 

register, 291. 

site, 61-63. 

surveys, 52, 255, 294. 
Schoolroom : 

acoustics of, in. 

decoration of, 79. 

hghting, 65. 

physical conditions of, 65, 113. 

walls tinted, 66. 
Scientific study of education, 12, 43, 293. 
Seasonable adjustments of daily program, 

82. 
Seating for class work, 65, 160. 
Seats and desks, 65-69. 
Secretarial work of the teacher, 285. 
Segregation of suspects, 95. 
Self-improvement of teachers, 91, 207, 

323- 
Sending to principal, 129. 
Sense differences, 27, 29, 280. 
Sense hunger, of children, 21. 
Sentence diagraming, 202. 
Sequential punishment, 127, 128. 
Sequential questioning, 185. 
"Set" or attitude in recitation, 159. 
Sets of books in school libraries, 77. 
Sex differences, 29, 71. 
Shape of classrooms, 65. 
Signals, use of, 225. 
Single seats, 66. 

Sites for school buildings, 61, 63. 
Size of classrooms, 65. 
Snellen eye test, 93. 
Snow, as sweeping compound, 96. 
Social efficiency aim, 3, 7. 
Social service of teacher, 320, 322. 
Socialized incentives, 122, 282. 
Special aptitudes, 31. 



Index 



341 



Specialization, early versus late, 47. 
Specific aims, i, 9. 
Specific and general training, 47. 
Specific training for teachers, 316. 
Speculative interest as motive, 144. 
Spelling : 

as drill subject, 176. 

classes combined, 86. 

memorizing required, 228. 

"One Hundred Demons of English," 
271. 
Spencer, quoted, 132. 
Stages of child development, 20. 
Standard tests, 268. 

distinction between teaching and testing 
value of, 270. 

in spelling, 271. 

use of, 269. 
Statistics, educational, 293-307. 

of salaries, 299, 310. 
Steps of development lesson, 163. 
Stimulating attendance, 281. 
Stories used as illustrations, 204. 
Strayer, G. D., quoted, 32. 
Student, type of attention, 25. 
Study, 222-254. 

distractions avoided, 161. 

economy in, 231-243. 

essential conditions of, 223. 

exercises, 249-253. 

home, 235, 253. 

lesson plan, 226, 245. 

questions illustrated, 245-247. 

supervised, 115. 
Stuttering pupils, 29. 
Substitution or repression, no. 
Suggestibility of pupils, 19, 25, 120. 
Sunday School teaching, for public school 

teachers, 320. 
Supervised study, 237. 
Superv'ision of written work, 234, 239. 
Supervisor's estimates of teachers, 319, 324. 
Surveys, educational, 294. 
Suspending pupils from school, 130. 
Sweeping compounds, 96. 
Swift, illustration from, 211. 
Symmetrical distribution of marks, 297, 298. 
System as conserver of time, 321. 

Tale-bearing, 123. 



Tardiness, 285. 
Teacher : 

as cause of school troubles, no. 

as governor, 102. 

beginning, 2, 12,90,106,125, 139,235,240. 

conservatism of, 41, 327. 

cooperation of, in developing standard 
tests, 272. 

importance of, 309. 

improvement of, 4, 91. 

personal appeals by, 114. 

preparation of, 315. 

professional code, 324, 329. 

professional interest in pupils, 325. 

qualificationsof, 73, 115,139,140,313,317. 

relation to criticism of schools, 38, 50. 

relation to local courseof study, 38, 50, 53. 

scale for measuring, 216, 319, 326. 

training for rural, 54, 134. 
Teachers' compensation, 310, 312. 
Teachers' meetings, 328. 

recommendations, 330. 

voice. III. 
Teacher's philosophy, 321. 
Teacher's responsibility : 

for hygienic and sanitary measures, 
91-96. 

for playground, 62. 

for pupils' eyesight, 66. 

for pupils' posture, 68. 

for purchase of apparatus, 78. 

for supervision of written work, 234. 

for temperature of room, 71. 

for ventilation, 70. 
Teaching : 

equipment for, 72-81. 

meaning of, 140. 

requires ability to talk well, 173. 

skill essential for, 139. 
Teaching and learning coordinate pro- 
cesses, 154, 267. 
Teaching value of examinations, 267. 
Teaching versus quizzing, 150. 
Telling method, 172. 
Temperature of schoolroom, 70, 71. 

in relation to tardiness, 70, 284. 
Testing : 

in the recitation, 169. 

reflects the teacher's work, 169, 267, 269. 

results, 255-259. 



342 



Index 



Tests : 

of eyesight, 93. 

of hearing, 93. 

standard, 268-271, 293. 
Textbooks, 44, 45, 252. 

abuse of, 38. 

disinfection of, 95. 

free, 113. 

must be adapted to class needs, 163. 

use in daily preparation, 156. 

use in questioning, 190. 

use in the recitation, 205, 

use in study period, 226, 243. 
Thorndike, E. L., quoted, 7, 11. 

in relation to fatigue, 84. 

penmanship scale, 304. 
Thoroughness, of preparation for teachers, 

315- 
Thought questions, 184. 
Time limits, in drill lessons, 178. 

in study, 231. 
Tinting of schoolroom walls, 66. 
Topical method, 244. 
Traditional influences, 41. 
Transfer, of training, 104, 175, 179. 
Transitory instincts, 20. 
Transmission, of social inheritance, 5. 
Truancy, 281. 
Types of attention, 25. 

Ultimate aims of education, i, 2, 9. 
Underleaming, the waste of, 232. 
Unilateral Ughting, 66. 

Ventilation, 69-71. 
Verbalism, in school life, 19. 



Viewpoints, instead of aims, s- 
Visitation, of schools, 65, 329. 
Vocabulary, of pupils, 19. 
Vocational versus cultural studies, 8, 45, 

Voice, of the teacher, iii. 

Wage earning, 46. 
Wastes : 

in overleaming, 232. 

in purchase of school equipment, 79. 

in recitations, 161. 

in study, 118, 122, 161. 

in textbook study, 244. 

in imderleaming, 232. 
Wasting time upon incapable pupils, 32, 

55, 86. 
Watch-tick test, 93. 
Water supply, 62. 

"What knowledge is of most worth?" 44. 
What, when, and where questions, 184. 
Whisper test, 93. 
Whole versus part method, 226. 
Why and how questions, 184. 
"Why I teach," 322. 
Window shades, 66. 
Window ventilation, 70. 
Withdrawal of privilege, 129. 
Work curve, 84. 
World democracy rests upon work of 

teacher, 327. 
Written lessons, 173. 

of greater value in some subjects, 174. 
Written work : 

correcting, 120, 260, 278. 

in study period, 234, 239. 

overdone, 235, 246. 



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